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BIBLICAL HISTORY 



Foa 



rSEAELITISH SCHOOLS, 



WITH A BEIEP OUTLINE OF TIIB 



Geography of Palestine. 



BY EMANUEL HECHT. 



BEVISED AND CORREOTBD 


BY DR. S. ADLER, 




8ABBI AND PBEACHKK OF THK CONGBEGATION EJlANU-K^ IHBW TOEK, 

» 


TBANSLATED PROM THE 


aERMAH 


BY DB. M. MAYER. 
VII EDITION. 




NEW-YORTT- 



Published and for Sale by M. Thaljjessinger & C6^ 

PRINTERS AND STATIONERS, S37 BROADWAY. 



1874. 



.H3fa 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 

M. THALMESSINGER & CO., New York, 
In the Office oi the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PRIMEVAL HISTORY OP THE HTTMAN RACE 

1. The Creation of the World. [Genesis i.] 

There was a time when nothing existed except God 
Himself, the Everlasting and Uncreated Being. He 
created everythins^ — whatever is above and around us — 
all that is in heaven and upon earth, from, nothing^ merely 
through His will. God proclaimed: ''Let there be!" 
and upon this command the whole universe sprang into 
existence. On the first day, God said: "Let there be 
light!" and there was light. On the second; day, God 
created the heaven^ the blue expanse above us. On the 
third di2iy^ God caused the dry ^anc? to appear, and made the 
ocean, the fountains, the brooks and rivers, and the flowers, 
grasses, and herbs. On the fourth day, God created the 
sun, the moon, and the stars. On the ffth day, His 
creative power produced the fshes in the water, and the 
birds in the air. On the sixth day, God created the creep- 
ing animals, cattle^ and the beasts of the field ; and at 
last, when the universe had been finished in its beauty and 
wise order, He created man, after His own image, and 
thus made him the master-piece among all created beings 
on earth.* 

* The following verses may assist the memory of the pupils in 
studying the history of the Creation : 

The first creation-day God said : " Let there be light I" 

The second did behold the vault of heaven bright ; 

The third, He made the brooks, trees, ocean, flowers fair. 



4 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR I3RAELITISU SCHOOI^. 

God made man in the following manner. He formed a 
"beautiful human body of dust from the ground. But this 
body, was yet without motion and life. He, therefore, 
breathed the breath of life, a spirit from His own spirit 
into it. And thus the first man, who received the name 
of Adam, meaning : Man of Earth, sprang into existence. 
And God said; •' It is not good that the man should be 
alone: I will make him a help suitable for him." A deep 
sleep fell upon Adam, and God took one of his ribs, while 
he was asleep, and formed it into a woman, and Adam 
called her JEJve, (j-[-inO ^^^^^ ^^^ Mother of all Living. These 
first human beings are our progenitors, and the progenitors 
of all men. On the seventh day, God rested from all His 
works, that is to say, He ceased from creating — and com- 
manded that we also should rest from all our labors, on 
the Sabbath, remember God and His creation, and offer 
up to him our thanksgivings, for His love and goodness. 



§ 2. The First Sin. [Genesis ii. iii.] 

God planted a pleasant garden, called Gan Eden^ or 
Paradise, and appointed it to be the dwelling place of 
Adam and Eve. In this garden there stood all kinds of 
fruit-trees, pleasant to the sight and good for food. And 
God commanded the man, saying : "• Of every tree of the 
garden thou mayest eat ; but of the tree of the knowledge 
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for as soon as 
thou eatest thereof thou shalt die." God did not intend, 
by this prohibition, to mar the joys of our first parents, 
bu^.willed only that they should always be obedient to 
Him, believe in His word, follow His commands, and love 
Him above all things. But they soon transgressed the 
command of God, and sinned. This happened in the 



The fourth He bade the sun, and moon, and stars appear ; 

The fishes on the fiftJi, and birds began to be, 

And on the sixths the world the beasts and vfian did see. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR TSRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 5 

following manner. Once Eve approached the tree of the 
forbidden fruit. On the tree there was a serpent, that 
addressed her thus : '' Do not believe that you must die as 
Boon as you have eaten of the fruit of this tree; do but 
eat. and you Avill then become wise, and be able to know 
good from evil, and be like unto God Himself." Eve 
believed more in the tempting words of the serpent than 
the command of God. She now contemplated the fruit of 
the tree still more attentively, and observed that it was 
good for food and pleasant to the eyes. Her desire to 
taste of it grew stronger within her heart. She took of 
it, did eat, and gave also to her husband, and he also did 
eat. And thus the first sin ^vas committed. But their sin 
of disobedience w^as soon followed by punishment. Their 
eyes were opened, they now knew that they had done 
wrong, and were able to discern the evil from the good 
which they could have fulfilled. They felt profound gj^ief 
in their hearts, on account of their sin ; they were ashamed, 
became afraid, and hid themselves from the face of God. 
But God, who sees, hears, and knows everything, per- 
ceived also their sin, and said: *' Adam, where art thou'?" 
And Adam ansv/ered : '' I heard Thy voice, and I was 
afraid because I was naked, and therefore I hid myself.'' 
And God said: "Who told thee that thou art naked? 
Hast thou eaten of the fruit whereof I commanded thee 
that thou shouldest not eat?" Whereupon Adam said: 
''The woman w^hom Thou gavest to be with me, gave me 
of the fruit, and I did eat." And God said: '' JSve, why 
hast thou done this?" And she answered: "The serpent 
beguiled me, and I did eat." Then God said unto the 
serpent: "Because thou hast beguiled the weak woman 
by sneaking hypocrisy, thou shalt be cursed above all 
cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly 
shalt thou creep, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of 
thy life." Unto Eve He said: '' Because thou hast obeyed 
the serpent rather than the w^ord of God, obedience shall 
henceforth be thy lot. Thy husband shall rule over thee, 
and in sorrow shalt thou train children." And unto Adam 
he said : " Since thou hast suffered pleasures of the senses 
to mislead thee, thy earthly enjoyments shall henceforth 
cause thee trouble. With great labor shalt thou till the 



6 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH fiCliOL.LB. 

gionnd, and in tlie sweat of thy face shalt tliou eat thy 
breafl, until thou shalt return unto the ground whence 
thou wast taken ; for dust thou art^ and unto dust shalt 
thou return'^ 

God then drove them from Paradise, and placed the 
cherubim with the flaming sword at the east of the garden 
to keep the way of the tree of life. 



§ 3. Cain and Abel. [Genesis iv.] 

{Kay in and HabeL) 

Adam and Eve had two sons ; the elder was named 
Cain^ (Kay in,) the younger Abel, (Habel). Cain was a 
tiller of the ground, and Abel a keeper of sheep ; the 
former was of a haughty disposition, while the latter w^as 
meek and pious. Now, both ofiered sacrifices before 
God; Cain offered of the fruit of the ground, and Abel 
tlie best of his flock. When Cain saw that God's blessing 
rested upon his brother, and that his offering was favorably 
accepted, he became exceedingly wnoth, so 'that his inward 
anger was very manifest. And God said to Cain : "Why 
is thy countenance fallen? Behold if thou art pious, thou 
also shalt be accepted; and if thou art not pious, sin 
lurketh before thy door, and unto thee is its desire, but 
thou canst conquer it." But Cain paid no attention to 
God's iDaternal admonition ; his heart hardened more and 
more, and he said once to his brother: "Come, let us go 
into the field." When they w^ere far away from their 
home and parents, the revengeful Cain rose up against 
his brother, and slew him. But severe were the pangs of 
conscience within Cain's bosom after he had perpetrated 
the atrocious fratricide ; he enjoyed neither rest nor ease. 
And God said unto him: "Where is Abel, thy brother 1" 
Cain answered: "I know not! Am I my brother's 
keeper r But God said: "What hast thou done? The 
voice of thy brother's blood crioth unto me from the 
ground. Cursed be for thee, therefore, the ground which 
Lath opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood 5 ad 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS, 7 

a fugitive and vagabond shalt thou wander abont upon 
earth, and nowhere find rest and repose." Then said 
Cain unto the Eternal: "My guilt is too heavy for me to 
bear. Behold, Thou hast driven me away this day from 
this ground, and from Thy face must I hide myself; a 
fugitive I must be upon the earth, and every one that 
finds me shall slay me." But God said: "Whosoever 
slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.'* 
The conscience-stricken Cain then removed from the land 
which he had defiled with his brother's blood, and fled to 
the country of Nod, on the east of Eden. Such was the 
realization of the joy and comfort which the poor parents 
of Cain and Abel had hoped to receive at the hands of 
their children. But God had compassion upon Adam and 
Eve, and gave them another son, who was named Sheth. 
At the time of JEnosh^ the son of Sheth, men began to call 
upon God, and Enochs a later descendant of Sheth's led a 
pious, godly life, and God took him soon to Himself. All 
men reached, at those early times, a vefy old age; 
Methushelah, the length of whose life exceeded that of all 
other men, lived 969 years. His son was Lemech^ and 
the son of the latter, Noah. 



% 4. Noah. [Genesis vL] 1656 A.M. 

Men gradually multiplied upon the fiice of the earth ; 
but they grew more and more corrupt, and committed 
many godless deeds. Even the descendants of the pious 
were led away from the path of virtue by the examples of 
the wicked. They married the daughters of the latter, 
and soon became, like these, corrupt and godless. But 
few believed that there w^as a God in heaven who saw and 
knew every thing. Noah and his wife alone remained 
pious, and would not suffer themselves to be led astray 
by their wicked fellow-men. They guarded their children 
also — as is the duty of good parents- — against the evil 
influence and corruption of their age, as much as it lay in 
tlieix" power. 



8 BIBLICAL HISTORY Full ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

And God said to Noah : *'The end of all flesh is eomo 
before me, for the earth is full of violence. But thou, ^o 
and make thee an ark, 300 cubits long, 50 broad, and 30 
high. For behold, I shall bring a flood of waters upon 
the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of 
life. Every thing that is on earth shall die. But with 
thee I will establish my covenant ; and thou shalt come 
into the ark, thou and thy sons, Sem, Ham, and Japhet, 
and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. Take with 
thee also provisions of food, and of all sorts of animals that 
can not exist in water; of every clean beast thou shalt 
take with thee seven pair, and of beasts that aie not clean 
take one pair, to keep seed alive upon the earth after the 
flood." And Noah did as God had commanded him. 
Hereupon all the fountains of the earth opened, and rain 
poured down from heaven forty days and forty nights. 
The waters increased more and more, and became at last 
so high, that even the tops of the highest mountains were 
covered. All living creatures were destroyed, man, cattle, 
birds, and creeping animals; only Noah and they that 
were with him in the aik, were saved alive. 



§ 5. Noah's Departure from the Ark. 

One hundred and fifty days the waters prevailed upon 
the earth. And God remembered Noah, and every living 
being, and the cattle that dwelt with him in the ark, and 
caused a wind to pass over the earth, that the waters of 
the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped ; the 
rain ceased, the waters subsided, and the ark rested upon 
the mountain Ararat, and the tops of the mountains, 
gradually rose again above the waters. 

Noah, after some time, opened a window of the ark and 
sent forth a raven, to see whether the water had sufficiently 
fallen or not. But the raven, having no doubt found food 
upon the mountain, flew to and fro, and then never 
returned. After some time, Noah sent forth a dove, which 
returned to the ark, because it could find no place to rest 
upon on account of the w^aters that were still on the earth. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOB ISRAKLITISH SCHOOLS. 9 

After waiting seven days, he sent forth the dove a second 
time. Toward evening she returned again, but this time 
with an olive leaf in her mouth, by which joyful token Noah 
perceived that the waters had abated, But he waited 
seven more days, after the lapse of which he sent forth the 
dove for the third time. But she returned no more, so that 
Noah knew that the waters were dried from the earth. 

Now God said unto Noah: *'Go forth from the ark, 
thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and the wives of thy 
sons, with thee, and all living creatures." And N oah 
went forth from the ark, together with all living beings. 
The first thing which he then did, was to thank God tor 
his deliverance! He built an altar, and, according to the 
custom of his time, offered a sacrifice upon it. This act 
of gratitude pleased God so much, that He said : " 1 will 
not again curse the earth any more for man's sake, although 
the imagination of man's ^heart is evil from his youth; 
neither will I smite any more every thing living as I have 
now done." And He blessed Noah and his sons, and said 
unto them: ''Behold, I establish my covenant with you, 
and with your descendants ; I shall not again send a flood 
upon the earth, nor shall the order of the universe be 
disturbed any more. While the earth remains, seed-time 
and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, 
and day and night shall not cease." At this moment, 
when Noah raised his eyes towards the sky, he beheld a 
rainbow w4th its soft brightness and majesty in the clouds. 
And God said: ''This rainbow shall be for a token and 
pledge of my covenant, and of my mercy wherewith Hook 
down upon the earth. But follow ye also my command- 
ments ; ye may rule over all the beasts of the earth, and 
every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; but 
ye shall not eat the flesh thereof as long as there is life in 
it Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood 
be shed ; for in the image of God made He man. But ye, 
be ye fruitful and multiply." 

Noah again tilled the ground, and discovered the vine, 
and improved and cultivated it. But not knowing the 
great power of wine, he drank too much of it, became 
i?itoxicated, and lay uncovered in his tent. How heinous a 



10 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 

vice 5s drunkenness ! His son Ham saw liirn, and laughed 
at him scornfully. But his other two sons, Sem and 
Japhet, who were more respectful children, covered him 
in a most delicate manner. When Noah awoke and heard 
of the rude conduct of Ham, he punished him, but blessed 
and praised Sem and Japhet, and appointed them to rule 
over their unfeeling brother. God also punished Ham 
and blessed his brothers. 



§ 6. The Descendants of Noah. [Genesis x. xi.] 

The sons of Noah now became the progenitors of the 
human race. The number of their descendants gradually 
increased ; but the more they multiplied, the more extensive 
pastures they required for their flocks, and the more room 
for themselves; so that they were compelled to separate 
from each other. Now, as this was not agreeable to them, 
they resolved to build a tower that should reach to heaven, 
in order that it might be visible to all, and serve them for 
a place from which they could be speedily called together, 
whenever it was necessary. They immediately set to 
work, burned bricks and prepared mortar, and began the 
building; but forgot God, without whose blessing nothing 
can be accomplished. On this account, God scattered and 
dispersed them, that in consequence at last, they could 
not understand each other's speech. The place where they 
intended to erect the tower, received in memory of this 
event, the name of Babel {confaslQu.) They were com- 
pelled to desist from their work, and spread over the 
earth. There are every where good and beautiful things 
ordained by Divine Providence to be enjoyed by man. 
For this reason the human race was scattered, that they 
should behold every where the glorious works of God, 
and employ them for their own pm^poses. But whatever 
He wills, man can not change. 



BIBLICA.L HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. H 



II. 

THE PATEIAECHS. 



§ 7 Abraham, The Progenitor of thk Israelttish 
Nation [Genesis xu] 2000 A.M 

TeraJi, one of Shem's descendants, lived in TJr of the 
Clialdee%, and had three sons, Ahram, Nahor, and Haran. 
After the death of Haran, Terah took his sons, JSTahor and 
Ahram, 'Sarai, the wife of the latter, and Lot, the son of 
Haran, and moved to the city of Haran, in the land of 
Mesopotamia, and made it his dwelling-place. Terah and 
his family, like all their countrymen, did not know the 
true God; instead of worshipping Him, theyworshipped 
the sun, moon and stars, images and animals. But Abram 
knew how foolish and wrong it was to pay that adoration 
to created beings, which we owe to God alone. He there- 
fore placed his entire confidence in God alone, and naani- 
fested true piety, while all his fellow-men, in his time, 
were more or le&s wicked. On this account, God looked 
with special favor upon him, and cared for him with true 
paternal kindness ; nay. He even conversed with him very 
often to make known His holy will to him. Once God 
said.to Abram: ''Get thee out of thy country, and from 
ti.v father's house, and from thy kindred, unto a land 
which I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great 
and distinguished nation, a7id through thee shall all the 
generatio7is of the earth he hlessecV At first, this promise 
did not appear to be followed by its fulfilment ; for Abram 
had no children. Yet Abram knew that whatever God 
premised would be fulfilled. Therefore, he firmly believed 
in the word of God, left all those that were dear and near 
to him, and went with his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot 
lo the land of Canaan. When he reached the city of 



12 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITiSH SCHOOLS. 

iSichem^ the Lord appeared to him and promised that his 
descendants should possess this land, Abram continued 
his pastoral life, moved about in the country, built altars 
unto the Lord in various places, and proclaimed, wherever 
he sojom-ned, the name of the Almighty. 



§ 8. Abram showing his Peaceful Disposition and his 
Generosity. [Genesis xiii. xiv.] 

Abram grew very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 
And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and 
herds, and tents. They themselves lived in peace, as it 
becomes relatives, but their herdmen began to quarrel. 
Abram therefore said to Lot: '' Let there be no strife, I 
pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen 
and thy herdmen, for we are brethren! Let us rather 
separate ; choOse thou whither thou wishesl to move, and 
I will be satisfied. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I 
will go to the right , or if thou depart to the right hand, 
then I will go to the left." Lot chose the region of Sodom, 
and removed there : but Abram remained in the land of 
Canaan. It is true, the country which Lot chose for him- 
self was beautiful and fertile, but its inhabitants were very 
wicked ; therefore, his selection was not a good one. Be- 
sides, a war soon broke out in that countr3^ Chador- 
laomer, king of Elam, together with some other kings, 
with whom he had concluded an alliance, defeated the 
king of Sodom, plundered the city and the country around, 
and took men, and beasts, and all their substance with 
them, as booty. They took also Lot, and his goods, and 
departed. When Abram heard this, he armed his servants, 
three hundred and eighteen in number, pursued the con- 
querors, took them by surprise by night, defeated them, 
delivered Lot, the women, and the people from the hands ^. 
of the enemy, and brought back all the goods. On his ^^ 
return, Melchizedek (who was a priest of the Most High), 
went forth to meet him, and brought bread and wine, and 
said : " Blessed be thou, Abram, of the most high God, 
possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be the most 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 13 

high God, who has delivered thy enemies into thy hands.'* 
Abram.gave him tithes of all. Also the king of Sodom 
came, and said to Abram : " Give me only the persons, 
and the goods take to thyself." Then answered Abram: 
^'I have lifted up my hand (for an oath) unto the Eternal, 
the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, 
that I will not take even a thread or a shoe-latchet, of all 
that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram 
rich. Only that which the servants have eaten, and the 
portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol and 
Mamre, let them take their portion." 
Thus acts a generous man. 



§ 9 Abraham, the M.ajt of Faith. [Genesis x v. xvi.] 

Abram was still without children, when God appeared 
to him and said: "Fear not, Abram, 1 am thy shield, and 
exceedingly great shall be thy reward." And Abram 
answered; ^'Lord! for what purpose wilt thou give me, 
seeing that I have no children, and that strangers shall be 
my heirs 1" Hereupon God brought him forth abroad, 
and said : " Look toward heaven ; numberless as the stars 
shall be thy posterity." And Abram believed God, and 
He counted it to him for righteousness. 

On the same day, God made a covenant with Abram, 
that his posterity should inherit the land of Canaan. 

Shortly afterwards, Hager bore a child unto Abram, 
when he was eighty-six years of age; and Abram called 
his son Ishmael, 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared 
again unto him, and said : '• I am God, the Almighty ; 
walk before me, and be thou pious." When Abram heard 
these words he fell on his face, and God continued, saying : 
" Behold ! thou shalt be the father of many nations, and 
kings shall be among thy descendants. Therefore, thy 
name shall no longer be called Abram, but it shall hence- 
forth be Abraham, (that is, father of a great multitude,) 



14 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOB ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

Sard shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt no longer caH 
her Sarai, but Sakah shall her name be. Then Abiaham 
fell ifpon his face, and laughed for jov, and said withm his 
heart : " Shall a child be born unto him that is a bundled 
years old? and shall Sarah, who is nmety years old, beail 
Oh! thatlshmael might live before Thee!" And God 
said : " Surely thy wiie Sarah shall bear thee a son indeed ; 
and thou Shalt call his name Isaac, (son of joy,) and with 
him and his posterity I shall establish ™y ^^^^f "*•, ^J"; 
concerning Ishmael also, I have heard thee; I shall bless 
him and make him a great nation." 



§ 10. Abraham, the Hospitable and Compassionatb 
Patriarch. [Genesis xviii.] 

One day, Abraham sat in the tent-door, in the heat of 
th. day, and saw three btrangers in the street. As «oon 
as he observed them, he ran to meet them bowed before 
them to the ground, and addressed one of them, saymg: 
'•Mv Lord, if I have found favor in thy sight, pass no» 
away, I pray thee, from thy servant. Let a little water, 
I i.mv you, be brought, and wash your feet, ihen ye 
may rest undei- yonder tree, until I shall bring a morsel 
of bread; and when ye shall have refreshed yourselves, 
ye may pass on your way." The strangers consented, 
and Abraham hastened into his tent, and said to Sarah : 
"Quickly bake some cakes." Then he ran to the herd, 
selected the finest calf, gave it to a young man that he 
mioht dress it, took butter and milk, set the dishes betore 
h's^uests, and remained with them under the tree while 
they were eating. One of the strangers asked him: 
"Where is Sarah thy wife? • Abraham answered: She 
is in the tent." And the stranger continued, saymg: 
"One year hence, at this time, I shall return, and Sarah, 
thy wife, shall then have a son." Sarah, overhearing these 
words, doubted their truth, and smiled secretly, but the 
stranger said: "Is anything impossible for God « ihou 
Shalt indeed have a son." When the three men had finished 
their meal, they rose, and weuded theu- way towaada 



BIBLICAL IlLSTORY FOR ISRAELITISII SCHOOLS. 15 

Sodom ; and Abraham went with them to bring them on 
the way. 

Then God said in His heart: '' How could I hide aught 
from Abraham that I shall do? For I know that he will 
command his children, and his household after him, to do 
what is right and good." '• Know then," said God to Abra- 
ham, " that I shall destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, on ac- 
count of their great and manifold sins." This information 
caused profound grief in the bosom of the kind-hearted 
and compassionate Abraham. He could not forbear to 
plead the cause of the condemned cities before God. 
''Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" 
he asked God. " Perhaps there are fifty righteous within 
the city : wilt Thou also destroy and not spare the place 
for the fifty righteous that are therein ? Oh ! be it far 
from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous 
with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the 
wicked in Thine eyes. Thou canst not judge thus, who art 
the Jud^e of all the earth." God answered: "If I find 
in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare 
the place for their sakes." Abraham continued to plead 
for the doomed cities, and said : "Behold now, I have taken 
upon me to speak unto my Lord, although I am but dust 
and ashes. Perhaps there shall lack five of the fifty 
righteous." And God said: "If I find there forty and 
five, the place shall not be destroyed." Abraham con- 
tinued, saying: "Perhaps there are but forty righteous 
in the city." Whereupon God answered: "I will not 
destroy it for the forty's sake." Abraham then said : 
'*0h! be not angry my Lord, that I still continue to 
speak : perad venture there shall thirty be found there." 
And God answered : " I will spare tlie city, if I find thirty 
there." Abraham continued: " Peradventure there shall 
be twentv found there." And God said : "T will not 
destroy it for twenty's sake." Abraham answered once 
more; "O Lord! be not angry, and I will speak yet but 
this once. Perad venture ten shall be found there." And 
God said: "I will not destroy it for the ten's sake." Now 
Abraham continued no longer, but retui*ned to liis dwell- 
ing-place. 



IG BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISTI SCIlOOLg. 

§ 11. The Destruction of Soi>om and Gomorrah, 

[Genesis xix.] 

Lot sat in the gate of the city, when, towards evening, 
the strangers arrived at Sodom. As soon as he saw them, 
he went to meet them, greeted tliem, and addressed them 
with the following words : '^ Behold now, my lords, turn 
in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all 
night." After many urgent requests on his part, they 
yielded and went into his house, where he made them a 
feast. No sooner had the inhabitants of the city heard 
that strangers had arrived, than they gathered together to 
insult them. Lot remonstrated with them, but in vain. 
Already they were about to break the door, when they 
were struck with blindness, so that they could not even 
find the door. Hereupon the strangers said to Lot: 
" Hasten to save thyself with all thy kindred, for we have 
been sent by .God to destroy this wicked city.'' When 
tho morning arose, and Lot still lingered, the strangers 
laid hold upon his hand, upon the hand of his wife, and 
upon the hand of his two daughters, and carried them out 
of the city. Here they left them, addressing Lot in these 
words: "Escape for thy life; do not stay to look behind 
thee, but flee into the mountain, lest thou perish. '' Now, 
an awful storm rose above tho cities of Sodom and Go- 
morrah; they were destroyed and all their inhabitants 
perished. Lot's wife, who, led by curiosity, had looked 
behind her, against the orders of the strangers, was 
changed into a pillar of salt. On the following day, 
Abraham got up early in the morning to learn what had 
become of the doomed cities, when the rising clouds of 
smoke showed him only tho place where they had stood. 
The Dead Sea now occupies the site which the desti'oyed 
cities once occupied. 



§ 12. Abraham's Obedience. [Genesis xxii.] 

God fulfilled his promise, and gave Abraham a son. 
And Abraham named him Isaac. When Isaac had grown 
older, he was often mocked by his brother Ishmael. Fof 



BIiiLlCAl. HISTOKi' lOU ..SiiAELlTISH SCHOOl.S. 17 

this reason, Snrah could not tolerate the latter, and re- 
quested Abraliam to send him away with his mother. 
Abraham was unwilling to comply, but God commanded 
him to liearken unto Sarah ; whereupon he provided Ish- 
mael and Hager with bread and water, and sent them 
away. Hager wandered into the wilderness, and went 
astiTty. The water in the bottle was exhausted before she 
could find another supply. Ishmacl was seized by the 
most burning thirst, and yet she could find no fountain 
whence to satisfy and thus to "feave her son. She then 
placed him under one of the shrubs, and said: '^I can not 
see the child die." She wept and prayed to God, and 
God heard her. An angel appeared, and showed her a 
well of water, from which she filled her bottle, and gave 
her child to drink. God was also in future with Ishmael, 
and made him the progenitor of a great nation, which 
numbers twelve tiibes, cailed the Ishmaelites. 

After some time, God tried Abraham, and said to Wm : 
"Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou 
lovest, go with him into the land of Moriah, and oflTer him 
there for a sacrifice upon one of the mountains which I 
will teUthee of" Abraham obeyed. He rose up early 
m the morning, took two of his servants and his son Isaac 
with him, went unto the mountain of which God had told 
him, built an altar, laid the wood on it, and then his son, 
and took the knife to slay him. But an angel of the Lord 
called from heaven: "Abraham! lay not thy hand upon 
the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I 
know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld 
thy son, thine only f?on, from me. By myself have I sworn, 
saith the Eternal, for because thou hast done this thing: 
that in blessing I will bless thee, and thy posterity shall 
be multiplied as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand 
upon the sea-shore ; and thy posterity shall possess the 
gate of their enemies: and through thy posterity sJiall all 
the nations of the earthhe blessed, because thou hast obeyed 
my voice." Full of joy, Abraham returned with Isaac to 
Beersheba, and dwelt there. Afterwards he moved to 
Hebron, where Sarah died in her one hundred and twenty- 
seventh year. He wept and mourned for her, and tlien 
bm-ied her near the city of Hebron^ in the eave of Mach* 



18 B.IiLlCAL IIISTOKY FOR l.SRAEMTiSil SCHOOLS. 

pelah^ which he had bought from the Hethites for four 
hundred pieces (Shekel) of silver, to make it the burying- 
place for his family. This cave cau be seen even to this day. 



§ 13. Abraham's Paternal Solicitude for his Son 
Isaac. [Genesis xxiv.-xxvi.] 

When Abraham had ' grown old and well stricken in 
Rge, he sent his faithful servant Eliezer to Haran^ to 
dioose from his relatives who lived there, a wife for his 
fon Isaac. Eliezer took ten camels, loaded them with 
various goods, started upon his journey, and arrived at 
.^laran towards evening. It was just the time when the 
vomen came out to draw water from the well where lie 
r^topped. Eliezer, who knew that no undertaking could 
Mucceed without the help of God, offered up his prayer, 
raying : *' Lord, God of Abraham ! I pray Thee, let me 
find favor before Thee this day. Behold! I stand here by 
the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the 
city come out to draw water. And let it come to pass, 
that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy pitcher, 
I pray thee, that I may drink; and shall say, Drink, and 
I will give thy camels drink also, let it be a token unto 
me that thou, O God ! hast appointed her for Thy servant 
Isaac, and thereby shovvest mercy unto my master." No 
sooner had Eliezer ended his prayer, than Rebekah, the 
daughter of Bethuel^ and granddaughter of ' JSTahor^ 
Abraham's brother, came with her pitcher upon her 
shoulder to draw water. Eliezer ran to meet her, and 
said: *'Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy 
pitcher." And she answered: "Drink, my krd, and I 
will give thy camels drink also." Eliezer wondered at the 
generosity and obliging mannei's of the maiden, gave her 
precious rings, and asked her whose daughter she was, 
and whether there was no room in her father's house for 
him to lodge in that night. Kebekah said : " I am the 
daughter of Bethuel and granddaughter of Nahor ; we 
have both straw and provender enough for thy camels, and 
room for thee to lodge in for the night." Eliezer thanked 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 19 

God that He had shown him the right way to the house 
of his master. In the meanwliile, Rebekah ran home, and 
there related all that had happened. When Laban^ the 
brother of Rebekah. saw the beautifid gifts which his sister 
had received, he hastened to meet Eliezer, and said to liim : 
"Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." Eliezer went with 
him to his home, where viands were placed before him. 
But he would not sit down to eat, until he had ascertained 
that Rebekah could go with him. She, as well as her 
parents and brother, consented to the proposal of mar- 
riage ; and on the following morning, Rebekah and her 
maidens mounted the camels to follow Eliezer to Canaan, 
where she became the wife of Isaac. 

At that time, Abraham was 140 years old. He liv^ed 
to a quiet old age of 175 years, when he died, and was 
buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael, in the cave of Mach« 
pelahj by the side of his wife Sarah. 



§ 14. IsAAa 

Isaac was, like his father Abraham, a God-fearing, kind- 
hearted, just, and peaceful man. He lived in Canaan, but 
afterwards, a famine visiting the land, he removed to 
Gerar^ a city belonging to the land of the Philistines. 
Here (jroA repeated to him the promise given to Abraham, 
that ''in his posterity all the nations of the earth should 
he blessed^'' and crowned all his undertakings with success; 
his herds multiplied greatlv, and he had many man-serv- 
ants and maid-servants. He learned also agriculture, with 
which his father had not been acquainted, sowed all kinds 
of grain, and made an exceedingly rich harvest. But his 
"wealth roused the envy of his neighbors, who caused him 
many and bitter annoyances. They stopped all the wells 
which Abraham had digged, and Abimelech, the king of 
the Philistines, at last said to him: "Go from us; for 
thou art much mightier than we." Isaac departed thence, 
and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt 
there. But as soon as he had there also opened the wells 



2.0 BIBLICAL HISTOKY FOK ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

of water which his father had digged, the herdsmen of 
Gerar began to strive with his herdsmen, saying: *'Tho 
water is ours." Isaac yielded, and digged another well: 
but they forced him again to give it up. He then digged 
a third well, for which they would no longer contend. 

When Isaac, some time after, moved to Beersheba, 
Abimelech, with several of his high officers, went to see 
him. And Isaac said to them: " Wherefore come ye to 
me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from youf 
Hereupon they answered : " We saw certainly that the 
Eternal was with thee ; therefore, we desire to make a 
covenant with thee, that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have 
not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing 
but good, and have sent thee away in peace.'* Then Isaac 
made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they 
rose up betimes in the morning, and swore one another 
concerning their covenant, and Isaac accompanied them 
upon their departure, and they departed from him in 
peace. 



§ 15. Jacob and Esau. [Genesis xxv. xxvi.] 

Isaac and Rebekah had been married twenty years, 
when God gave them twin sons, whom they called Esau and 
Jacob. Esau, the elder-born, was of a wild and rough 
disposition, but Jacob was of a quiet and mild temper. 
Esau who delighted in hunting, was the favorite of Isaac, 
while Rebekah loved Jacob more than her elder son, be- 
cause the former preferred the quiet seclusion of home to 
the wild sports of tlie field. These brothers did not con- 
tinue for a long time to live in peace with each other. 
One day when Esau returned home from hunting, very 
much fatigued, he found Jacob wnth a mess of pottage just 
p'-epared by him, and, longing for it, he requested his 
brother to give it to him. But Jacob said: ''First sell 
me thy birthright." Esau answered: ^'Behold! I am at 
the point to die, and what profit can this birthright do to 
meV Plereupon he sold it to Jacob, did eat and drink, 
and went away. And thus he desinsed the privileges of 
his birthright 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 2i 

Isaa^, who did not know any thing of this transaction, 
at another time said to Esau: "i3ehold I ara old, and the 
day of my death cannot be for distant. Now, therefore, 
take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, 
and go out to the field and get me some venison. And 
prepare it well for rae, in a manner as I love it, and bring 
it to me, that I may eat, and then I will bless thee before 
I die." Rebekah, who heard this, and wished that JTacoh 
should receive the last and very important blessing of his 
father, prepared a kid of the goat's, and persuaded Jacob 
to carry it in to his father, and present himself as his 
brother Esau. After some hesitation, Jacob yielded. 
Isaac, who did not recognize him, as he was almost blind, 
pronounced his blessing over him. But no sooner had 
Jacob left his father, than Esau entered with the venison 
and asked for his fathers's benediction. Now the deception 
was discovered. Esau wept for anger, and exclaimed : 
*'The supplanter hath deceived me these two times ; he 
took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my 
fatlier's blessing!" From that time Esau entertained 
deep hatred against his brother, and even resolved to kill 
him after the death of their father. Rebekah heard of 
Esau's intention, and said therefore to Jacob: "Flee to 
Laban, my brother, to Haran, and stay with him until 
thy brother's anger turn away. Why should I be deprived 
of you both in one day ?" She prevailed also upon Isaac 
to let him go, who sent him away with his blessing and with 
the admonition not to take a wife from the Canaanites 
around them, but go to the birth-place and family of his 
mother Rebekah. Thus Jacob fled from his home and 
started upon his journey to his uncle Laban^ who lived in 



'§16. Jacob's Journey to Haran. [Gen. xxviii. xxix.] 

Jacob left Beer-shoba and went toward Haran. On his 
way he was overtaken by the night, before he had reached 
an inhabited place. He took a stone for a pillow under 
his head, and fell asleep. While be was asleep, he had a 



22 BIBLICAL HISTOKY FOR ISRAELITiSH SCHOOLS. 

beautiful dreara. He beheld a ladder set up on the earth, 
and the top of it reached to heaven, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending on it. And God stood above it, 
and said : "^ I am the Eternal, the God of Abraham and the 
God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I 
give it, and to thy posterity. I will multiply thee to be 
as numerous as the dust of the earth, and thou stialt spread 
abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and 
to the south, and through thee and through thy 2'>osterUy 
shall all the families of the earth he blessed. Behold l I 
am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou 
goest, and will bring thee again into this land ; and I 
\yill not leave thee until I have done that of which I have 
spoken to thee." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he 
said : " Surely the Eternal is in this place ; and I knew it 
not. How awful is this place ; it is nothing but the house 
of God, and this is the gate of heaven." He rose early 
in the morning, took the stone which had served him 
for a pillow, set it up for a pillar of memorial, poured oil 
upon it, and called the name of the place Bethel^ which 
signifies the House of God. He made, at the same time, 
avow, saying; ''If God will be with me, and will keep 
uie in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat 
and raiment to put on, and I come again to my father's 
house in peace, then this pillar of memorial shall become 
a house of God, and of all that Thou shalt give me I will 
surely give the tenth unto Thee." Hereupon Jacob con- 
tinaei his way towards the east, and came to a well in 
the field, by which he found three flocks of sheep lying. 
He asked the herdsmen: ''My brethren, whence are yef 
And they answered: "of Haran are we." And he con- 
tinued, asking: "Do you know Laban, the grandson of 
Nahorf To which they answered: "We know him 
well ; ^nd behold , Rachel his daughter, cometh with the- 
sheep." When Jacob saw Rachel, he rolled the stone 
from the well's mouth, and watered her flock, and wept 
aloud for joy. He told her, at the same time, that he 
was the son of Rebekah, the sister of her fxther. Rachel 
ran home and told her father. Laban immediately came 
to the well, embraced and kissed Jacob, brought him to 
liis house, and made him overseer of Ms flocks. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISR\ELITISH SCHOOLS. 23 

§ 17. Jacob's Sojourn with Laban. [Genesis xxix. xxx.] 

After the expiration of a month, Laban said to Jacob ; 
''Wilt thou serve me for nothing; tell me, what shall 
thy wacres bef Jacob answered: "I will serve thee 
seven years if thou wilt give me thy younger daughter 
Rachel for my wife." Laban consented; and Jacob 
served seven years for Rachel; but they seemed to him 
only a few days for the ardent love which he entertained 
for her. But Laban deceived him, and gave him his elder 
daughter Leah, instead of Rachel to be his wife. Jacob 
called him to account for his deception, and said: "Why 
hast thou done this unto me^? Did I not serve thee for 
Rachel^ Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me giving 
me Leah instead of Rachel t" Laban answered : " It is not 
the custom in our country to give the younger before 
the first-born. Serve me seven more years and then I will 
give thee also Rachel for thy wife." Jacob did so, and 
Laban gave him Rachel his daughter to his wife. Jacob 
liad the following twelve sons with Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, 
and Billah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, JSTaphtali, 
Gael Asher, Issachar, Zehalun, Joseph, and Benjamin. 
He had but one daughter, called Dinah. 

After the birth of his eleventh son, Joseph, Jacob de- 
sired to return to his own country, but was induced by 
Laban to stay longer. Thus he served Laban most faith- 
fully, fourteen years for his wives and six more years for 
wages, working hard, both by day and by night, for his 
avai'icious father-in-law, Avho often attempted to defraud 
him of his wages. But God blessed him the more abund- 
antly, so that he had a multitude of servants, cattle, 
camels and asses. 

When Laban saw that Jacob's wealth increased, he 
showed him no longer the same friendly countenance as 
before, while his sons, on then- part, would use slanderous 
language against him. It was then that God said to 
Jacob :'^'' Return unto the land of thy fathers, and I will 
be with thee." Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to 
him into the field, and said to them: I see that your 
father's countenance is no more towards me as before. 



24 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

But you know that with all mj^ power I have served your 
father. And he has deceived me, and chano-ed my wa^es 
ten times ; but God suffered him not to hurt me. A^nd 
now the Eternal has said to me : ' Arise, get thee out from 
this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.' Are 
ye also willing to follow God's admonition ?" And Leah 
and Rachel answered: ''Whatever God has said unto thee 
do." One day, when Laban had gone to shear hrs sheep 
Jacob secretly departed with his wives, children, and 
goods, to return to his father Isaac, to Canaan. 



§ 18. Jacob's Ri^.turn to his Native Country. 
[Genesis xxxi.] 

Three days had already elapsed since the departure of 
Jacob from the house of Laban, when the latter heard of 
it, hastened to pursue him, and overtook him in the mount 
- of Gilead. But God said to Laban in a dream by night : 
" Take heed that thou speak unto Jacob nothing but 
friendly words." Laban proposed a reconciliation with 
Jacob; they ate and drank together, made a covenant, 
and then separated. Jacob then continued his journey in 
peace. But the nearer he approached his native country, 
the stronger grew his fears of Esau, his brother. He 
therefore sent messengers to him, saying: I have so- 
journed with Laban, and stayed there until now; and I 
have oxen, and asses, flocks, and men-servants, and women- 
servants, and I have sent to tell thee, that I may find grace 
in thy sight." The messengers returned to Jacob, say- 
ing: "We came to thy brother Esau, and also ho cometh 
to meet thee, and four hundred men with him." When 
Jacob heard this, he became greatly alarmed; but his 
alarm did not check his activity and carefulness. With 
great precaution he arranged the people that were with 
him, and his flocks, in a manner that would at least secure 
the safety of a part of them, in case of an attack by his 
brother. He then sent presents to his brother to appease 
his anger, and prayed to God for help, saying: " O God 
of my fathers, the Lord who said unto me, ' Return unto 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 25 

thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with 
thee:' I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and 
of all the truth which thou hast showed unto Thy servant ; 
for I had nothing but this my staff when I passed over 
this Jordan, and now I return with two camps. Deliver 
me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the 
hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite 
me, and the mother with the children." He then sent the 
presents, and remained that night near the brook JcCobok, 
Early in the morning, when the sun arose, he saw Esau 
with his four hundred men approach. But Esau, who had 
perceived and appreciated the exertions of Jacob fgr re- 
conciliation, no sooner beheld his brother and his numer- 
ous company, than he was suddenly changed, banished all 
anger from his heart, I'an to meet him, and embraced him, 
and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept for 
joy. Esau would not accept the proffered gifts, and 
yielded only to the urgent entreaties of Jacob. The latter 
then proceeded to Succoth, where he remained for a time, 
and then removed to Shalem in the land of Canaan, Here 
he said to his household, and to all^ who were with him: 
*' Purify yourselves, and change your garments ; and let us 
arise and go up to Beth-el, and I will build there an altar 
unto God, who answered me on the day of my distress, and 
was with me in the way which I went." And they went 
to Beth-el, were Jacob fulfilled his vow which he had 
made there on his flig^ht from his brother Esau. During 
their stay in this place, Deborah^ Rebekah's nurse, died, 
and her loss was greatly bewailed. 

In Beth-el, God appeared to Jacob and gave him the 
name of Israel, which signifies Champion of God^ and 
promised him also that his posterity should inherit the 
land of Canaan. From this name Israel^ we derive that 
of IsKAELiTES. From Beth-el Jacob moved to Bethlehem. 
On the way, when already near the city, his beloved Rachel 
died, and Jacob buried her by the roadside, and set up a 
monument upon her grave, which is shown even to this 
day. From Bethlehem Jacob went to Hebron to his father, 
w^ho died at the age of one hundred and eighty years, 
after having experienced the joy of seeing ouce more his 



26 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELHITIS SCHOOLS. 

younger son. Esau and Jacob buried him in the family 
sepulchre of Abrr.ham. 

The two brothers did not dwell together for a long 
time. Their riches were too large to allow them to stay 
in the same place together. Esau went with his family 
to mount Seir, and became the progenitor of the Edomites. 



§ 19. TheBrothersof Joseph Selling HIM THROUGH Envy. 

[Genesis xxxviii,] 

0£all his sons, Jacob loved Joseph, the elder-born son 
of his beloved Rachel, the most: for he was an aifection- 
ate, handsome, and intelligent lad. But his brothers en- 
vied and hated him on account of the partial fondness 
with which their father clung to him. And their hatred 
grew still stronger, when he once related to them, with 
innocent joy, two of his dreams, which seemed to intimate 
that he should at some future time rule over thein. "I 
have dreamed," he said to them, "that we were binding 
sheaves in the field, and lo! my sheaf arose, and also 
stood upright ; but your sheaves stood round about, and 
made obeisange to my sheaf." At another time he told 
them the following dream, saying, ''The sun and the 
moon and eleven stars made obeisance tome;" meaning 
thereby that his father, his mother, and his eleven brothers 
bowed down to him. Besides, he proved to be a tale- 
bearer, telling his father whatever evil his brothers did. 
All these things together roused their hatred so greatly 
that they could not even bear his sight. 

One day, the brothers of Joseph having gone to a dis- 
tant pasture-ground with their flocks, Jacob said to him : 
" Go, I pray thee, and see whether it be well with thy 
brethren, and well with the flocks ; and bring me word 
again." Joseph at once obeyed the bidding of his father 
and departed.' But he returned no more. When his 
brothers saw him afar ofi*, they said to each other : " Be- 
hold, the dreamer cometh ; come now, and let us slay him, 
and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil 
beast has devoured him : and we shall see what will be- 
come of his dreams.'* But Reuben said : ** Why will you 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 27 

slay Lim'? Shed no blood, but cast him rather into one 
of the pits, and lay no hand upon him." It was the in- 
tention ot Reuben secretly to take him again out of the 
pit and to deliver him to his father. When Joseph was 
come unto his brothers, they stript him of his coat of 
many colors, and cast him into one of the empty pits. 
Now it happened that, while Reuben was absent, Ishmael- 
itish merchants passed by, being on their way to Egypt 
(called 3Iizrai7n) with spicery, balm, and myrrh. And 
Judah said to his brothers: ''What profit is it if we slay 
our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us 
sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon 
him ; for he is our brother and our flesh.' This pro- 
position was adopted ; and Joseph was sold for twenty 
pieces of silver, and carried away by the Ishmaelites with- 
out mercy. When Reuben returned to the pit and found • 
Joseph no more, he rent his clothes, and exclaimed : ''The 
child is no more ; and I, whither shall I go 1" But the 
brother's took Joseph's coat, killed a kid of the goats, dip- 
ped the coat in the blood, sent it in this state to their 
father, and said: This coat w^e have found; know now 
w^hether it be thy son's coat or nott To his great terror, 
Jacob recognized the coat of his favorite child. Full of 
agony he rent his clothes, and filled his tent with the heart- 
rending cry: ^'Alas! alas! it is my son's coat; an evil 
beast has devoured him ; Joseph is rent in pieces." 

All his sons and daughters came to comfort him; but he 
refused to be comforted, saying : ** No, I will go down into 
the dark grave unto my son mourning." Thus did his 
father weep for, and mourn over Joseph, 



§ 20. Joseph a Slave. [Genesis xxxix.] 

God turned the evil designs ot Jacob's sons unto good. 
The Ishmaelites sold Joseph to Potiphar^ the captain of the 
body-guard of the king of Egypt. Joseph, however, was not 
disheartened, but piously bore his unfortunate condition. 
He served his master faithfully and honestly, and God 
made all that he did prosper in his hand. For this reason 
his master loved him greatly, and confided his wholo 



28 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

household to his care. But he can not yet be called 
altogether strong, who knows only how to bear outioard 
adversity. Joseph was destined to attain greatness ; there- 
fore, he had to undergo trials, whether he could withstand 
also ^Vl^/Jarc? temptations and strifes. Soon an opportunity 
presented itself for such trials. Potiphar had a very 
wicked and corrupt wife, who made every exertion to mis- 
lead Joseph to faithlessness. But he remained faithful to his 
God and to piety, exclaiming: " How can I do this great 
evil and sin against my Godi" As often as she urged 
upon him to do evil, he fled from her. She became angry 
and resolved to take revenge. She accused Tiim, before 
Potiphar, of the very evil deed to which she had made 
frequent attempts to mislead him. Potiphar believed his 
treacherous wife, and ordered that he should be thrown 
into the prison where the kings' prisoners were confined. 
His order was immediately carried into execution. 



21. Joseph in Prison. [Genesis xl.] 

Joseph was now in prison. But here also he did not 
lose his fortitude and courage, and God was with him. 
By his good behaviour he won the favor of the keeper of 
the prison, who allowed him many privileges, and made 
him overseer over all his fellow-prisoners. Among these 
there were also two officers of the king, the chief butler and 
the chief baker of the royal court. Both had, in one night, 
very remarkable dreams which alarmed them greatly. 
When Joseph observed their sadness, he asked them, 
saying : " Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day V* They 
answered: "We have dreamed a dream, and can find no 
one to interpret it." And Joseph said unto them : " Inter- 
pretations helong unto God alone ; yet tell me your dreams, 
I pray you." And the chief butler told his dream, saying: 
" In my dream, behold, a vine was before me ; and in the^ 
vine were three branches ; and it w\as as though it budded, 
and the blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof 
brought forth ripe grapes. And I took the grapes and 
pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into 
Pharaoh's hand." Joseph said to him: *'The three branches 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 29 

signify three days. Within three days si i all Pharaoh re- 
store thee unto thy place. And then think also on me, 
when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray 
thee, unto me, and pray unto the king, that he may deliver 
me from this prison. For, indeed, I have done nothing 
that I should have deserved to be put into the dungeon." 
This interpretation pleased the chief baker, and he then 
told his dream to Joseph, saying : " I had three baskets on 
my head, and in the uppermost basket there was all man- 
ner of bake-meats for Pharaoh ; and the birds did eat them 
out of the basket upon my head." And Joseph answered 
and said : *' The three baskets signify three days. Within 
three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, 
and shall hang thee on a tree, and the birds shall eat thy 
flesh from off thee." These interpretations were fulhlled ; 
but the chief butler forgot Joseph, and remembered him 
no more in his prosperity. 



§ 22. The Release of Joseph. [Genesis xli.] 

Two years afterwards, the king himself dreamed that 
he stood by the river, and he saw seven fat-fleslied kine, 
and after them seven lean-fleshed ones come up out of the 
river. And the latter ate up the former, and yet it could 
not be known that they had eaten them. After this dream 
Pharaoh awoke, but fell again asleep and had another 
•dream. He saw seven rank and good ears of corn grow 
up from the earth, and after them seven others that were 
thin and parched ; and the latter devoured the former. 
Of all the wise men of Egypt, whom the king consulted in 
the morning, not one could interpret these strange dreams. 
And now the chief butler remembered Joseph, and spoke 
to Pharaoh of his skill in the interpretation of dreams. 
Joseph was immediately taken from the prison, and hand- 
somely dressed, brought before Pharaoh, who said to him : 
"I have heard that thou understandest well to interpret 
dreams." To which Joseph modestly answered : " Not I 
but God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. But re- 
late, I pray thee, thy dreams unto me." The king then 
told him his dreams ; and God gave Joseph the wisdom to 



30 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOE ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

tnterpret thera. He, consequently, addressed the king, 
saying: '^What God is about to do, He showeth unto 
Pharaoh. Behold, thei;e will come seven years of great 
plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall 
arise after them seven years of famine. Now, therefore, 
let Pharaoh erect storehouses, and gather, during the seven 
plenteous years, the fifth part of all the corn of Egypt, and 
lay it up for store to the land against the seven years ot 
famine ; that the land perish not through the famine." 
Pharaoh, greatly pleased with his speech, said to Joseph: 
"Forasmuch as God has granted thee so much wisdom 
and understanding, thou shalt be over my house, and I 
shall set thee over all the land of Egypt." Thereupon he 
took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's 
hand, (as a token that the latter could henceforth decree 
laws in the name of the king,) and arrayed him in gar- 
ments of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck, 
and caused the following proclamation to be made: " Bow 
the knee: this is your ruler I" Pharaoh gave him also 
the daughter of an Egyptian high-priest to wife. 

The poor prisoner slave thus all at once became chief 
minister of a king of Egypt. Joseph then travelled all 
over the land of Egypt, gathered corn during the years of 
plenty, and laid it up in storehouses with the most prudent 
care for the years of famine. And as he had predicted, 
the years of dearth came, and famine, distress, and misery 
reigned in all neighboring countries, while the Egyptians 
Avere still provided with bread. But when their provisions 
were exhausted^ they cried to Pharaoh for bread. And 
Pharaoh said to them : "Go unto Joseph; what he saith 
to you, do." Joseph then opened the stoi*ehouses and 
provided the Egyptians with corn. And the people of 
other countries also came to Joseph to buy corn from him. 



5 23. The First Journey of Joseph's Brothers to 
Egypt. [Genesis xlii.] 

The land of Canaan suffered likewise by this famine. 
And Jacob said to his sons: ''I have heard that there is 



BIBLICAL HISTOPvY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 31 

corn in Egypt: get you down thither and buy for us from 
thence, that we may Uve and not die." The sons of Jacob 
departed upon then' journey; but Benjamin, Joseph's 
brother, Jacob did not send with them, fearing lest some 
evil accident might befall him. They arrived safely in 
Egypt, appeared before Joseph, bowed down themselves 
betore him with their faces to the earth, but did not recog 
nize him, both on account of the brilliant attire of his 
royal grandeur, and because the lad whom they had sold, 
when seventeen years old, was then a man of thirty-eight 
years. Joseph, on the other hand, at once recognized them, 
and remembered the dreams he had had in the days of his 
youth. Although it was now in his power to punish them 
for their cruel conduct towards him, he banished every 
thought of revenge from his bosom; he still loved his 
brothers, and had long forgiven them. Intending, however, 
to try them, and see whether they had become better men, 
he made them believe that he did not know them, and 
asked them with feigned harshness: ^'Whence do you 
comef They answered with trembling voices: "We are 
oome from Canaan, to buy food." " No," replied Joseph, 
" I know ye better ; ye are spies ; to see the nakedness of 
the land ye are come." Submissively they answered: 
'' Pardon Lord 1 we are come to buy food. We are honest 
men ; thy servants are no spies. We are twelve brethren, 
the sons of 07ie man, the youngest alone is with our father, 
and the other — is no more." Joseph would no longer 
listen to them, but said: "It is so, as I have said to you, 
ye are spies." He then sent them into prison, but already 
on the third day he had them again brought before him, 
and said to them : *'I fear God, and would do injustice to 
no man. If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be 
bound in the house of your prison ; go ye, carry corn for 
the famine of your houses. But bring your youngest 
brother unto me, so shall your words be verified, and ye 
shall not die." Now their grief increased. Conscience- 
stricken they spoke to each other, in Hebrew : '• We are 
indeed guilly concerning our brethren, in that we saw the 
anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would 
not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us." And 
Reuben answered them, saying: "Spake I not iinto you, 



32 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

sayini^, Do not sin aerainst the child, and ye would not 
hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required." They 
did not know that Joseph understood their languasje. 
When he heard their words, he could not suppress his 
tears ; he turned away and wept. He now perceived that 
j they had become better. However, as he desired to in- 
[ crease their feelings of repentance, he ordered that Simeon, 
' w^ho had no doubt shown himself to be the most unfeeling 
of them, should be bound before them, and sent him into 
prison. He then commanded to fill the sacks of his other 
brothers with corn, to restore, unknown to them, every 
man's money into his sack, and dismissed them. They 
laded their asses with the corn and departed. On their 
way one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender, 
and found to his great astonishment, his money therein. 
All were filled with dread, saying one to another: ** Why 
hath God done this unto usf Arrived at home they 
em])tied their sacks, and, behold! every one found his 
bundle of money in his sack. They then told their father 
all that had happened during their journey and their stay 
in Egypt. When Jacob had heard their narrative, he 
cried, and said: ''Ye will yet bereave me of all my child- 
ren : Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and now ye 
will take also Benjamin away. All these things are against 
me!" And Reuben answered his father, saying : "Deliver 
him into my hand ; I will bring him to thee again. I will 
leave my two sons as hostages, that I shall fulfill my pro- 
mise." But Jacob replied : " My son shall not go down 
with you ; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone of 
the sons of his mother. If mischief befall him by the v/ay 
in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs 
with sorrow to the grave." 



§ 24. The Second Journey of Joseph's Brothers to 
Egypt. [Genesis xliii.] 

When the corn brought from Egypt was eaten up, Jacob 
said to his sons: "Go again, buy a little food." And 
Judah replied, saying: "If thou wilt send our brother 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. S3 

Benjamin with us, we will go to buy corn ; but without 
Benjamin we cannot appear before the man. Send the 
lad with me. I will be surety for him ; of my hand shalt 
thou require him : if I bring him not unto thee again, and 
set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever." 
Jacob persisted for a long time in his refusal to send 
Benjamin with them. But the famine becoming greater 
every day, he at last consented, saying: "If it must be so 
now, do this : take off the best frait of the land in your 
vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little bahii 
and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds. 
And take double money in your hand, and the money that 
was brought again in your sacks, carry it again with you ; 
perad venture it was an oversight. Take also your brother, 
and arise, go again unto the man. And God Almighty 
may give you mercy before the man, that he may send 
away your other brother and Benjamin. But if I be be- 
reaved of my children, be it so!" The sons of Jacob then 
departed to Egypt with Benjamin. When Joseph saw 
them, he said to the ruler of his house : " Bring these men 
home, and prepare a repast for them; for they sliall dine 
with me to-day." But his brothers were afraid, when they 
were brought into Joseph's house, and they said: "Because 
of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first 
time are we brought in ; that he may seek occasion against 
us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen." They 
therefore addressed the steward of Joseph's house, and 
told him that they had found the money in their sacks and 
brought it back again. The steward answered them, say- 
ing: "Peace be with you! Fear not! Your God and 
the God of your father hath given you treasure in your 
sacks; I had your money." He then released Simeon 
from the prison, and brought him to them, and gave them 
water to wash their feet, and provender for their asses. 
i: When Joseph came home, they offered him the present 
J which they held in their hands, and bowed themselves to 
him to the earth. But lie greeted them very kindly and 
gaid at once to them: "Is your father well, the old man, 
of whom you spake ? Is he yet alive f Hereupon he 
looked for Benjamin,. and, recognizing him, said: "Is this 
yom- younger brother of whom you spoke to me 1 God 



34 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

be gracious unto thee, my son!" While he spoke these 
words, his feelings overpowered him, he hastened away 
into his cliamber and wept; for his heart was filled with 
love and tender affection. Most willingly would he have 
now made himself known, for he saw that they hr.d im- 
proved. They had returned to Egypt to release their 
brother Simeon; they had brought back the money found 
in their sacks ; their speeches proved that they feared 
God: but one thing mm*e was Avanted : Joseph not doubt- 
ing that his brother Benjamin vvas now, as he himself in 
former days, the favorite of his father, was desirous to 
learn, whether Benjamin was in the same manner hated 
by them, as he himself had once been the subject of their 
hatred. He, therefore, commanded the steward of his house 
after dinner, savinor: "Fill the men's sacks with food, as 
much as they can carry, and put every man's money in 
his sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the 
sack of the youngest." The steward did as Joseph had 
commanded. But no sooner were they gone out of the 
city, than the steward followed after them, at the command 
of Joseph, overtook them, and said to them: "Wherefore 
have ye rewarded evil for good? Why have ye stolen the 
cup of my lord ?" They answered : " Wherefore saith my 
lord these words? God forbid that thy servants should do 
according to this thing. Behold, the money which we 
found in our sacks we brought again unto thee out of the 
land of Canaan: how then should we steal out of thy 
lord's house silver or gold? Search our sacks, and with 
whomsoever of thy servants the cup be found, both let 
him die, and we also be my lord's bondmen." Then they 
speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, 
and opened every man his sack, but, to their great horror, 
the cup was found in the sack of Benjamin. Horror- 
stricken, they rent their clothes, re-laded their asses, and 
returned into the city. Oh 1 what deep feelings of grief 
and alarm must have filled theii* hearts on their return to ,. 
the house of Joseph! " 



BIBL CAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 35 

§ 25. The Recognition. [Genesis xliv. xlv.] 

The sons of Jacob were brought before Joseph, who 
addressed them saying: ''What shameful deed have ye 
committed V And Jiidah said : '' What shall we say 
unto my lord? how can we clear om-selves? God hath 
found out the iniquity of thy servants, therefore this has 
happened unto us. Behold! we will all now be thy bond- 
men." But Joseph said: "God forbid that I should do 
Fo; but the man in whose hand the cup was found, he 
shall be my servant 5 as for you, get you up in peace unto 
your father." 

Judah, remembering the promise which he had made 
to his father concerning Benjamin, then drew near, and 
spoke to Joseph with a touching voice, saying: "O my 
lord! let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my 
lord's ears, and let not thme anger burn against thy ser- 
vant. I have become surety for this lad, who is alone left 
of the sons of his mother, and our father's heart clings 
most lovingly to him. Thy servant our father said to us, 
You know that my wife bare me two sons. And the one 
went out from me, and I saw him not since. And if ye 
take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall 
bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now 
therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the 
lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the 
lad's life: it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the 
lad is not with us, that he will die, and thy servants shall 
bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with 
Borrow to the grave. Now, therefore, I pray thee, let me 
abide instead of the lad as bondman to my lord ; and let 
the lad go home with his brothers. For how shall I go 
home to my father without the lad? How could I see the 
grief that shall come upon my father?" Joseph could no 
longer restrain himself — he could no longer master his 
feelings, and exclaimed: *'Let every Egyptian go out!" 
When he was alone with his brothers, he wept aloud, so 
that he could be heard even outside of the house, and said 
toTlis brothers: "I am Joseph, doth my father yet live?" 
His brothers were unable to reply ; for terror, shame, and 
joj, perplexed their hearts and minds. Joseph kindly 



36 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISU SCHOOLS. 



anticipated them, and said : ^* Come near to me, I pray 
you. I am yom* brother Joseph, whom you sold into 

-. Egypt. But think not that I am angry on this account. 

^ Not you, but God did send me hither, and hath made me 
a father unto Egypt, to preserve your lives in these years 
of famine. Hasten to my fother, and tell him of all my 
glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hasten 
now, and bring down my father hither." After these 
words, he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept. 
And Benjamin wept upon his neck. He then kissed all 
his brothers and wept in their arms ; and after that only, 
his brothers talked with him. 

When Pharaoh heard that Joseph's brothers had come, 
he was exceedingly pleased, and commanded Joseph to 
give his brothers wagons and food for their journey, and 
besides, a festival garment to each of them: but Ben- 
jamin received five garments and three hundred pieces of 
silver. And to his lather he sent ten asses laden with 
good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn, 
bread and meat for his journey. 

Then Joseph took leave of his brothers, and said to 
them on tlieir departure: "Be not agitated by the way! 
All be forgotten!" 



§ 26. The Family of Jacob Removing to EarPT. 
[Genesis xlvi.]. 

Jacob passed the days during which all his sons were 
a\vay from him, in great sadness. But his sadness was 
soon changed into joy. They all returned and brought 
him, as the best token of their welcome greeting, the in- 
telligence that Joseph was still alive, and ruler over all 
the land of Egypt. The intense joy of Jacob at this in- 
telligence may be felt, but cannot be described in words. 
His heart fainted, for he could hardly believe them. But 
when they told him all the words of Joseph, and he beheld 
the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him and his 
family to Egypt, his spirit revived in joy, and he ex- 
claimed: ''It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive. I 
will go and see him before I die. Although he was old 



*^ 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 87 

and infirm, he nevertheless hastened to leave Canaan, and 
departed with his own family, consisting of seventy per- 
sons, for the land of Egypt. At the boundary of Canaan 
he offered sacrifices to his God. 

Joseph could not w^ait for the arrival of his father in 
Egypt, he was too anxious to see him again ; he mounted 
his chariot to meet him on the way. As soon as he saw 
him, he left his chariot, fell on his neck, and wept for some 
time in his arms. And Jacob also wept, and said; " Now 
let me die, because I hav^e seen thy face, that thou art yet 
alive." When the family of Jacob had entered the city, 
Joseph presented his father and some of his brothers be- 
fore Piuiraoh, who asked the venerable Patriarch: ''How 
old art thouf Jacob replied: "The days of the years 
of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years ; few 
and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and 
have not attained unto the days of the years of the life 
of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." He then 
blessed Pharaoh and withdrew. 

Joseph did all that lay in his power to render the re- 
mainder of Jacob's life happy and joyful. He gave him 
the best part of the land, the region of Goshen^ for his 
dwelling place. Seventeen years afterwards, Jacob be- 
came sick. When Joseph heard it, he went with his sons 
Manasseh and JEphraim to see his father. Jacob said to 
him: "Do not bury me in the land of Egypt, but with 
my fathers in the cave of Machpelah, Avhich is before 
Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in our family sepulchre." 
He then blessed the sons of Joseph, and adopted them as 
his own children. He then also blessed his own sons and, 
when finished, "he gathered up his feet into his bed, and 
expired." Joseph fell upon his face, and wept upon him, 
and kissed him. The Egyptians mourned for Jacob 
seventy days, after which Joseph, accompanied by his 
brethren and a large number of Egyptians, went to 
Canaan to fulfil the last wish of his father, and buried him 
in the cave of Machpelah. 

After their return to Egypt, the brothers of Joseph 
feared that he, as their father was dead, might now take 
revenge upon them for all the evil which they had done 
to him, sent a messenger to him, and went afterwards 

4 



38 BIBLICAL HISTOEY FOE ISEAELTTTSH SCHOOLS. 

themselves, to implore his forgiveness for their great 
wrong doing. But Joseph said to them: "Fear not; I 
also stand under God. Though ye thought evil against 
me, God meant it unto good. Fear not, I will nourish 
you, and your little ones." And he faithfully performed 
all he had promised. 

Joseph lived to such a happy old age, as to see the 
children and children's children of his sons Manasseh and 
Ephraim^ and died in the one hundred and tenth year of 
his life, after having requested his brothers to carry his 
bones with them to the land of Canaan, whenever they 
ehould return thither His body was embalmed and kept 
in a coffin in Egypt 



81BUCAI. BISTOJiX fOB UBAEUXI3H SCHOOLS. 39 



III. 

THE ISRAELITES IN EaYPT. 



■♦-M^^-f-*- 



f 27. Birth of Moses. [Exodus i. ii.J 

Afl*5i the death of Jacob and Joseph, the Israelites had 
no longer a common chieftain, but every tribe had a dis- 
tinct name, taken from that of their several chieftains, that 
is to say, from the names of the sons of Jacob. Yet all 
the tribes lived in entire seclusion Irom the E:^yptians, so 
that their pure knowledge of God could not be disturbed 
by Egyptian idolatry. 

In the course of time, a new kmg arose, who knew not 
Joseph, nor the meritorious services which he had ren- 
dered Egypt, and regarded with indignation and animosity 
the flourishing condition and mighty increase of the Israel- 
ites. He feared their vast multitude, and apprehended that 
they, looked upon as they were as foreigners, might rebel, 
or leave the land against his will, and join his enemies. 
He, therefore, afflicted them with intolerable burthens, 
forced them to perform the most rigorous services, and 
treated them m the most cruel manner. And when he 
saw that he did not succeed in accomplishing his object by 
all these means, he issued the inhuman decree, that all new- 
born male children should be cast into the river : hoping 
that thus the Israelites would gradually die out. But God 
had so ordained it that the descendants of Jacob should 
be preserved, in order that He might accomplish, through 
them, great and miraculous deeds. The more the Israel- 
ites were afflicted, the more they multiplied and increased. 

In the year 2413, after the Creation of the World, a 
handsome boy was born also to Amratn and Jbchebed, of 
the tribe of LevL They hid him in thek house three 



4:0 BIBIJCAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

months. But thev could no longer conceal him ; for the 
eye of envy is watchful, and treachery never sleeps. 
Jochebed, thei-efore, wove a little ark of bulrushes, put 
the child into it, placed it amidst the flags by the river's 
brink, and bade her daughter Miriam stand afar off to 
watch the child. It happened then that the daughter of 
the king came down to the river to bathe. She saw the 
ark, and ordered one of her maids that were with her, to 
take it out of the water and bring it to her. When she 
opened it, and saw a weeping child in it, she exclaimed 
with emotion : " Oh ! this is one of the Hebrews' children." 
When Miriam observed the emotion of thekinor's dauGfhter, 
she ran to her and said: " Shall I go and call to thee a 
nurse of the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child 
for thee V And Pharaoh's daughter replied to her : '' Yes, 
go." And the maid hastened and called the child's mother, 
wlio thus had her own child returned to her from the hand 
of the princess. 

When the child had grown up, the daughter of Pharaoh 
took him as her own son, and called him Moses, that is, 
*Hhe Child rescued from the Waters." 



§ 28. MoSES M\-NIFESTING HIS ATTACHMENT TO HIS 

People. [Exodus ii.] 

Moses, being educated at the palace of the king, had 
ample opportunity to develop his talents, and learn all the 
wisdom of the Egyptians, which afterwards was of* great 
advantage to him. The Princess herself regarded him as 
her son. No doubt, if he had desired it, he could have 
attained to the highest offices and dignities of Egypt, and 
he could have enjoyed, at the royal court, all the pleasures 
that the world could afford. But the sight of his suffering 
brethren filled him with profound grief; he disdained the 
glory that the Egyptians could bestow upon him, while 
the sad condition of hia brethren engaged all his thoughts 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISU SCHOOLS. 41 

an^ feelings. Once, seeing an Esryptian cruelly beat an 
Israelite, he was so deeply moved by the sight that, in 
taking the part of his brother, he allowed his zeal to carry 
him so fir, that he slew the Egyptian — no doubt inad- 
vertently, ill the zeal of his interference — and then liid 
fhim in the sand. On the following day he found two 
Plebrews strivinof too^ether. and said to him who was in 
the wrong: "Why smitest thou thy fellow!" Upon 
which the man replied: "Who made thee a ruler and 
judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou didst 
kill the Egyptian!" Then Moses became afraid, and said 
to himself: "Surely the thing is already become known." 
Now, when Pharaoh heard of the event, Moses was no 
longer secure in Egypt. He, therefore, lied to Midlan, 
and sat down fatigued by his journey, near a well. 

There lived a priest in Midian, named iTethro, who had 
seven daughters. These just came out with their flocks 
to draw water ; but other shepherds came and drove them 
away. Moses could not endure to see this injustice, he 
helped the maids, and thus enabled them to water their 
flocks. When they had returned to their father's house, 
they related all that had happened. Then said Jethro : 
*' Where is the man ? why have ye not invited him here 
to eaf?" Moses was at once sent for, and consented to 
dwell with Jethro, who gave him his daughter Zipporah 
for his wife, and kept henceforth the flock of his father-in- 
law. He had two sons, whom he called Gershom and 
JEUezer. 

In the meanwhile, the king of Egypt died ; but the con- 
dition of the Israelities grew still more miserable. "And 
they sighed by reason of their bondage," and they cried 
for help to their Father in heaven, and He barkened unto 
their lamentations. 



§ 29. The Appointment op Moses. (Exodus iii) 

Moses, as we have just heard, kept the flock of Jethro. 
For many years he had led the life of a simple and modest 
shepherd, and reflected, in the solitude of the desert, upon 
the misery of his fellow-Israelites in Egypt. During this 



42 BIBLICAL HISTORY F JU, ISPvAEUTISIi SCHOOLS. 

time he had acquired, moreover, that cahnness and discre- 
tion which were necessary for him as the deliverer of his 
people from the hand of the tyrant. The heat and rash- 
ness of his youth had abated, and thus he was well ma- 
tured for the plans which God had laid out concerning the 
redemption of Israel. 

One day he tended his flock near the foot of Mount 
Horeb. All at once he beheld a bush in flames, and yet, 
the bush was not consumed. He drew near more closely 
to examine the appearance, when the voice of God ad- 
dressed him, saying: "Moses, draw not nigh hither : put 
off thy shoes from thy feet, for the plr.ce whereon thou 
standest is holy ground." And God said furthermore : 
*'I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. I 
have seen the affliction of my people, thy brethren, and 
have heard their lamentations, and I am come down to 
deliver them. Go 'to Pharaoh in Egypt, and demand of 
him that he should let my people depart from Egypt. And 
I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go ; but 
I wi,l stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my 
wonders, and after that he will let you go." Moses, be- 
lieving that he was not equal to such a task, would not 
accept the appointment, and said : " Bat the people of 
Israel will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice, and 
will say: God hath not appeared unto thee." Then said 
God to him : " Behold ! by my help the Israelites will 
hearken unto thy voice." Moses still hesitated to under- 
take the great work, and said : " Thou knowest, O my 
Lord ! that I am not eloquent, but that I am slow of 
speech, and of a slow tongue." Then God answered him, 
saying; " Who hath made man's mouth 1 or who maketh 
the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind ? have not I 
the Eternal *? Now, therefore, go, and I will be with thy 
mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." Moses said : 
^' O my Lord! send him whom thou wilt send." Then 
said the Eternal with great force : ** Do I not know that 
thy brother Aaron is very eloquent? He will come forth 
to meet thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in 
his heart. lie shall be thy companion and thy spokesman 
before the king and the people. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 43 

Moses thereupon returned to his father-in-law, took 
leave from bim, and then started upon his journey to 
Kgypt. While journeying through the wilderness, he met 
his brother Aaron, and conversed with him concerning 
the great task which God had intrusted to him. They 
then went together to Egypt, gathered together all the 
elders of the children of Israel, and communicated to them 
tlie will of their God. And the people believed, bowed 
their heads, and worshipped. 



§30. The Deliverance of the Israelites prom the 
Egyptian Bondage. [Exodus xii.] 

Moses and Aaron stepped before Pharaoh, and demand- 
ed of him, by virtue of God's command, to let the Israel- 
ites go on a three day's journey to celebrate a feast in the 
wilderness. But the heathen king proudly replied upon 
this demand: "Who is the Eternal, your God, that I 
should obey his voice, to let Israel go? I know not your 
God, neither will I let Israel go. There is too great a 
number of idle people in the land; wherefore will ye keep 
them from their work ? Get you unto your burdens ! Ye 
are idle, ye are idle; therefore ye say. Let us go and cele- 
brate a feast in the desert. But now ye shall be forced to 
do still harder work, in order that ye may forget all desu-e 
of celebrating feasts!" And the Israelites were indeed 
still more oppressed, and, full of indignation, they said to 
Moses and Aaron : '' The Lord look upon you and judge, 
because ye have made our savor to be abhoredln the 
eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a 
Bword in their hand to slay us." Then Moses prayed, 
saying: "Lord, wherefore hast Thou so evil-entreated 
this people 1 Why is it that Thou hast sent mel For 
since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath 
oppressed this people still more, and Thou hast not yet 
delivered them." God then renewed his promise of help 
and pi'otection, and the speedy delivery of the Israelites. 
Moses conveyed these promises to his brethren ; but they 
would not listen to him, for anguish of spirit and for cruel 
bondage. 



44 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

Now Moses appeared before Pharaoh, and gave him 
proofs of his divine mission. But the heart of Pharaoh 
was hardened, and he refused to let the Israehtes go. On 
account of this obstinacy on the -part of tlie king, God 
sent ten great plagues upon Egypt. He changed all the 
waters of the land to blood, and brought frogs, vermin, 
flies, murrain, small-pox, hail, locusts, and deep darkness 
all over the country ; but Pharaoh hardened his heart and 
hearkened not unto Moses. As long as each plague lasted, 
he promised to obey and permit the Israelites to depart ; 
but as soon as it was removed, he retracted all his prom- 
ises. Then said God : " Yet will I bring one plague more 
upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let 
you go. About midnight all the first-born in the land of 
Egypt shall die, from the first-born of the king, even unto 
the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill, 
but not the least evil shall befall the Israelites. This one 
plague I shall yet bring upon Pharaoh and his land, and 
then he will let you go. And now prepare the last repast 
in Egypt ! Kill every man a lamb, one lamb for a house, 
take of the blood and sprinkle it on the two side-posts 
and on the upper door-post of the houses, and eat the 
flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; and ye 
shall eat it with your loins girded, your shoes on your 
feet, and your stafi" in your hand, to be perfectly ready 
for a journey." 

The plague thus foretold by God was brought upon 
Egypt. In the night of the fourteenth day of the month 
of JV'i^an,^ all the first-born of Egypt died, from the first- 
born of the king even to the cattle. And there was a 
great lamentation throughout the land ; for there was not 
even 07ie house in which there was not one dead. Only 
the houses of the Israelites, in v/hich the Passover^sacrlfice 
was brought, escaped. Now the proud Pnaraoh hastened 
himself to Moses and requested him to depart with all the 



* The names of the Jewish months are as folows : Nisan, 
lyaVf SivaUy Tamooz^ Ab, JSlool, Tishri, Marheshvan^ Kislev. 
Tehet, Sliehal, Ada7' and, (in a leap-year, \ Second Adar, 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 45 

people of Israel from Egypt, and take everything with 
them which belonged to them. And the Egyptians were 
likewise urgent upon the people to hasten their departure, 
for they said : " We shall be all dead men !" They would 
not even leave them sufficient time to leaven the daii'>'h 
prepared for bread, so that the Israelites were compelled 
to take it with them unleavened and unbaked, lest they 
were without food at the very beginning of their journey. 

Thus God delivered them from their bondage. About six 
hundred thousand men, that could bear arms, left Egypt, 
and with them a great number of mixed people, beside 
large flocks and herds, after they had suffered under cruel 
bondage almost two hundred years. Notwithstanding the 
great haste in which the Israehtes departed from Egypt, 
Moses did not forget to take the bones of Joseph with him. 
At the command of God, they journeyed towards the Hed 
Sea. God also commanded the Israelites to commemorate 
their delivery from Egypt every year, for all times, by the 
celebration of the Festival of Passover, and to eat unleav- 
ened bread (Mazoth) during the seven days of this festival. 



§ 31. The Destruction of Pharaoh. [Exodus xiv.] 

The chastisements ot God struck Pharaoh and the 
Egyptians only with transient dread, but did not effect 
their complete improvement. The Israelites had not yet 
made many day's journey from Egypt, when the king re- 
gretted their departure and started upon their pursuit, to 
drive them back into bondage. Not far from the Hed 
Sea he overtook them. The Israelites were in great danger; 
before them was the sea, behind them the pursuing enemy, 
and to their right and left they saw steep rocks. Moses 
comforted them in their fright, saying : '' Fear not, trust 
in the help of God, He shall fight for you ; to-day you 
shall once more see the Egyptians, and ye shall see them 
no more forever." In the name of God he then stretched ^ 
forth his staff over the sea, and a strong east wind began 
to blow, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were 
divided. Now the children of Israel passed through the 
midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the waters were 



46 BIBLICAL HISTOKT FOR ISKAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left. 
They had already reached the opposite shores, when the 
Egyptians hastened after them in blind pursuit. But Moses 
again, at the command of God, stretched forth his staff 
over thv3 sea, the waves returned and buried the chariots 
and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came 
into the sea after them ; not even one man escaped. 

When the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the 
sea-shore, the people feared the Eternal, and believed both 
Him and his Servant Moses ; then sang Moses and the 
children of Israel a song of thanks and praise unto the 
Eternal. And Miriam also, the sister of Aaron, took a 
timbrel in her hand, and sans: with all the women : ''Sino: 
ye unto the Eternal, for He is high and exalted j the horse 
and his rider hath he thrown into the seal" 



§ 32. The Proclamation of the Law on Mount Sinal 

[Exodus XX.] 

From the Red Sea the Israelites moved towards the 
desert, a desolate and uninhabited country. They intended 
thence to go to Canaan, where their forefathers had so- 
journed, and which God had promised to give them for an 
inheritance. In the third month after their departure from 
Egypt, the Israelites came to the wilderness of Mount 
SiNAi and encamped there. Here God said unto Moses: 
*' Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and proclaim 
to the children of Israel : ' Ye have seen what I did unto 
the Egyptians, and how I bare you as upon the protecting 
wings of an eagle, and brought you hither. Now, there- 
fore, if ye will obey my commandments, ye shall be a pecu- 
liar possession unto me, though the whole earth is mine. 
And ye shall be unto me a Kingdom of Priests, and 
^" A H^oly Nation.' These are the words which thou shalt 
speak unto the children of Israel." Moses then called the 
eiders of the people together, and communicated these 
words to them. The whole people answered together, 
exclaiming: ''All that the Eternal hath spoken we will 
do." Now God spoke to Moses furthermore, saying: 
♦* Tell the children of Israel that they should sanctify them- 



BI3LICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 47 

selves, wasli their clothes, and be pi'epared for the thh\l 
day. And on the thh*d day, they shall appear at the foot 
of the mountain." And it came to^pass on the third day, 
that there were heavy thunders and lightnings, and a thick 
cloud upon the mount, and the sound of the cornet was 
heard, growing more and more powerful. Fear seized 
upon all the people ; the whole mountain stood in flames, 
smoked, and quaked. Then all was silent again, and the 
voice of God spoke distinctly, as follows : 

1. J am the Eternal thy God^ who hath hr ought thee 
out of the land of JSgypt^ from the house of bondage. 

2. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt 
not maJce unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of 
any thing that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth 
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth / thou shalt 
not bow down before them, nor xi^orship them; for I, th^ 
Eternal thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the guilt of 
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth 
generation of them that hate me / but showing mercy unto 
thousands of them that love me and keep my comynand- 
m^ents. 

3. Thou shalt not letter the name of the Eternal thy God 
unto falsehood; for the Eternal will not let hiin go unpun- 
ished who uttereth His name unto falsehood. 

4. Remember the SahbatJi-day to keep it holy. Six days 
shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day 
is a day of rest unto the Eternal thy God. On it thou shalt 
do no manner of work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, 
thy man-ser-oant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor 
the stranger that sojourneth within thy gates. For in six 
days the Eternal made heaven and earth, the sea and all 
that in them is, and rested on the seventh day ; therefore 
God blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. 

5. Honor 'thy father and thy mother, that thy days may 
last long in the land which the Eternal thy God giveth 
thee 

6. Thou shalt not murder. 



48 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOK ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

7. Thou shalt not cominit adultery. 

8. Thou shalt not steal. 

9. Thou shalt not testify against thy neighbor as a 
false witness. 

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighhofs house^ thou shalt 
not covet thy neighbor's vnfe, nor his man-servant^ nor his 
maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that 
is thy neighbor's. 

All the people heard these words and said trembling 
and fearing: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do, 
and we will obey him." (Origin of the Festival of the 
Weeks.) 



§33. The Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf. 

[Genesis xxxii.] 

' Shortly after the proclamation of the Law, God spoke 
to Moses, saying: '' Come up to me into the rilount, and I 
will give thee .tables of stone, and laws, and command- 
ments, which I have written." And Moses rose up, and 
went up into the mount of God, entered the cloud, and 
tarried there, and remained there forty days and forty 
nights. Impatient of the long absence of Moses, and be- 
lieving that Moses must have died, the people said to 
Aaron : "• Make us gods, for we know not what is become 
of that man Moses who brought us out of the land of 
Egypt." Aaron had not sufficient courage to resist the 
demands of the people, and made for them a golden calf, 
which they worshipped, exclaiming : " These are thy gods, 
O Israeli that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!" 
When Moses came down from the mountain he saw with 
horror that the people had forsaken their God to worship 
an i9ol, and was seized with such holy indignation, that 
he c^st down the tables of stone which he had received 
from God, and broke them before their feet. He then 
boldly stepped amidst the apostate Israelites, took the 
golden calf from before their eyes, destroyed it, and com- 
manded the tribe of Levi, that had alone remained ti'ue to 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 49 

the God of Israel, to punish the Idolaters. They slew 
about three thousand of the calf -worshippers. On tlie 
following morning, however, Moses said unto the people: 
*'Ye have committed a great sin; and now I will go up 
unto God and invoke his forgiveness upon you." And he 
prayed to God : ^' O Lord ! forgive the people ! If not, blot 
me, I pray thee, out of Thy book." And the Lord said 
unto Moses: "Whoever hath sinned against me, him will 
'I blot out of my book. Yet, I have pardoned the people 
according to thy word." Moses was so full of grateful 
veneration for the goodness of God, that he felt the ardent 
desire still more to know Him, and prayed: "O God! If 
I have found grace in Thy eyes, show me Thy ways, that 
I may know the." Then said God: *'Ko man can ever 
have a perfect conception of my being ; but know, God is 
eternal, ztiichangeable^ almighty^ merciful, gracious, long^ 
suffering, full of love and truth, preserving his mercy even 
for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, 
but permitting no guilt to go unp>unished.'' Hereupon God 
gave Moses two new tables of stone and dismissed him. 
When Moses came down from the mountain to the people, 
his countenance shone with such a brilliant halo, that ho 
had to ]iut on a veil, because the people were afraid to 
approach him. 



§ 34. RrruAL Institutions — The Tabernacle op the 
Covenant — The Priests — The Levites. [Exodus 

XXV. -xl.] 

The Eternal spoke to Moses, saying : *^ Speak unto the 
children of Israel, that they bring me an offering : of every 
man that giveth it wiUingly with his heart, ye shall take 
it, gold, silver, brass, purple, fine linen, skins, furs, oil, 
spices, and jewels, and let them make me a sanctuary after 
the pattern thiit I shall show thee, that I may dwell amongst 
them." Moses did as God had commanded him, snd 
behold! far more offerings were brought than wure 
required. 

Israelites skiilfiil in all manner of workmanship, imme- 
diately began to build the Holy Tabernacle. The wholft 

5 



CO BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

was thirty cubits long, ten cubits broad, and ten cubits 
high, constructed of forty ei'^ht boards of shittim wood 
covered with gold. These boards were held together by 
five gilded bars, passing through five golden rings fixed on 
each of the boards. Four coverings were spread over the 
Tabernacle, one above the other. At the entrance of the 
Tabernacle was a curtain of blue, and scarlet, and purple, 
of fine twined linen, wrought with needlework. 

The inside of the Tabernacle consisted of two apartments. 
The first of these, called the IToly Place, was much more 
spacious than the second, called the Holy of Holies, or 
Most Holy Place. In the Holy Place stood : The Table 
of Sheio-Bread^ the Golden Candlestick^ and the Altar oj 
Incense. 

Upon the Table of Sheio-bread^ called also the Golden 
Table, because it was overlaid Avith gold, lay, in two 
piles, the twelve loaves of unleavened bread, (shew-bread, 
0*^5 5 n ^r\b) which were changed every Sabbath 

The Golden Candlestick had seven arras ; upon the top 
of each was placed a lamp, filled with holy oil, and kept 
perpetually burning. 

The Altar of Incense was made of shittim wood and 
plated with gold, one cubit in length, the same in breadth, 
and two cubits in height. Upon this altar sweet incense 
was burnt every morning and evening. 

In the Holy of Holies, which was completely dark, stood 
the Ark of the Covenant. It was a kind of chest, made of 
shittim wood, and covered within and without with gold. 
Its lid was of purest gold, and two Cherubim, made of 
solid gold, was placed on the two ends, their faces turned 
towards each other. In this ark the two tables of stone 
were kept. 

The Holy Tabernacle was surrounded by an outer in- 
closure, called The Court of the Tabernacle, one hundred 
cubits long and fifty broad, supported by columns which 
rested on sockets of brass, and were connected, on theii 
tops, by means of rods, from w^hich curtains were sus- 
pended. Within this enclosure, in the open air stood the 
Altar of Burnt Offerings, upon which the sacrificial ani- 
mals were burned and sacred fire was continually kept 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 51 

burninsf. Besides this altar, the Brazen leaver for the use 
of the Priests stood in the Court of the Tabernacle. 

God spoke farther to Moses, saying ; " Take Aaron and 
his sons, have holy garments made for them, and conse- 
crate them for rae to be my priests." In obedience to 
this command, Moses called the whole people together, 
brought Aaron and his sons before them, and caused 
Aaron to be washed. Hereupon he had him clothed with 
the Coat or Tunic, reaching down to his ankles ; the Tipper 
Ga.rment, or the robe of the ephod, which reached down to 
his knees, and had upon the hem of its lower part little 
bells of gold and pomegranates in needlework ; above it 
he placed the Ephod, the Girdle, and the Breastplate with 
twelve precious stones, with the names of the twelve tribes 
engraven upon them. He then put the Mitre upon his 
head, and on the front of it he placed the Golden Plate^ 
with the inscription, Holy unto the Eternal I After hav- 
ing attii'ed Aaron in these sacred garments, he anointed 
him to be the High-Priest, and his sons to be the Priests 
of God. The members of the tribe of Levi — ^the Lenite^ 
— were appointed to be ministers in the service of the 
Sanctuary, and received the Tithes of all fruits for their 
sustenance ; for they were excluded from the general dis- 
tribution of the promised land. 

Moses next communicated, according to the command 
of God, the laws concerning the sacrifices to the people. 
These could be offered only in the sanctuary, and through 
the medium of the priests. The sacrifices consisted of 
wine and oil, of baked meats and such animals which were 
declared clean and free from all bodily defect and blemish. 
Every morning and evening a lamb was to be offered 
upon the altar of the sanctuary. For the Sabbaths and 
Festivals especial sacrifices were instituted, as also for 
particular occasions : Sin, Tresjoass and Peace Ojferings, 
i3esides these, Free-Will Offerings of individuals were 
admitted. The manner of oSering was different for the 
different sacrifices, and very minutely described in the 
lavv\ The most solemn sacrifice was that instituted for 
the Day of Atonement, which was a day of general ex- 
piation for the whole people. On this day the High-Priest 
had first to offer a sin-offering for himself — ^for even the 



52 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

chief amongst the priests is not free from sin — and then 
another for the whole people. He then took the blood, 
entered the Holy of Holies — the only time throno-hout the 
year — sprinkled it upon the lid of the Ark, prayed, and 
blessed the Conm-esration. 

Besides the laws concerning the sacrifices, a large num- 
ber of other ritual statutes were proclaimed, and may be 
found in the Books of Moses. 



§ 35. The Rebellions of the People, causej* by their 
Hardships in the Wilderness. 

The Israelites did not bear with patience the hardships 
of their wandering in the desert, but lost, on every occa- 
sion, all confidence in God, murmured, whenever they 
suffered from want, and then expressed the wish that they 
would prefer returning into their former bondage in Egypt. 
On all these occasions, Moses was subjected to the most 
harrasing and bitter reproaches. But God regarded with 
paternal love their want of courage and base inclinations, 
and provided them in the most miraculous way, with all 
the necessaries of life. But ignorant men seldom appre- 
ciate the benefits bestowed upon them by others ; only the 
educated are obedient and thoughtful. When the cliildren 
of Israel came to Marah, they could not drink the bitter 
waters of that place, and began, for this reason, to murmur 
against Moses. Moses cast a piece of wood into the water 
and the water was at once made sweet. 

Some time afterwards, when the Israelites were without 
food, they murmured against Moses and Aaron, and wished 
themselves back to the flesh-pots and the bread of Egypt. 
Then said Moses unto them : " Why do you murmur 
against me and Aaron ? Is it not God that brought you 
out from Egypt! But trust in Him and He will help you!" 
On the following morning, the dew covered the surface of 
the desert, and when it was gone, '' there lay a small round 
thing, as small as the hoar frost upon the ground." When 
the children of Israel saw it, they asked one another : 
"What is thaf? {^-{^^ -^j^) Moses replied to them: "This 
is the heavenly bread which God had given you to eat 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. o3 

Gather it every morning except on Sabbath; let none 
leave his house on the Sabbath day to gather it, for it will 
not be found ; but on the sixth day, let every man gather 
twice as much as on any other day." With this bread, 
which the Israelites called Manna^ they were fed forty 
years, and Aaron took a pot full of it and kept it ia 
the Sanctuary for a perpetual memorial of the provident 
goodness of God. 

Siiortly afterwards, the Israelites murmured again 
against Moses, saying: "Who shall give us j^e^A to eat ? 
We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, 
the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the 
onions, and the garlic. But now our soul is dried away ; 
there is nothing at all, besides this Manna, before our 
eyes." When Moses heard these w^ords he was sorely 
grieved. But God spoke to him, saying : " Ye shall get 
fiesh to eat, not for one day, not for two days, not for five 
days, no'r for ten day^ nor for twenty days; but even a 
Avhole month, until it come out of your nostrils, and it be 
loathsome unto you.'* Moses could not conceive the possi- 
bility of such a help, and said: "The people among whom 
I am, are six hundred thousand footmen ; and Thou hast 
said : ' I will give them flesh, that they may eat a Avhole 
month.' Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for tliem, 
to sufiice them! Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered 
together for them, to suffice them V^ And the Eternal said 
to Moses: "Is the hand of the Eternal waxed too short? 
Thou shalt see now whether my word shalt come to pass 
unto thee or not." God then sent a wind which brought 
quails from the sea in such large numbers that they lay 
two cubits high upon the ground. And the people gath- 
ered them all thai day, and all that night, and all the next 
day, and dried them round about the camp. But many 
who seized the quails too greedily and ate too great a 
number of them, died in consequence of their intemper- 
ance, and were buried in that place, which received the 
name Kibroth-hattaavahy {the Graves of Lust.) 

On another occasion, the Israelites sutfered from locmt 
of water, Viud murmured against Moses, saying: "Would 
God that we had died in Egypt. Why have yo brought 
us into this wilderness, where neither figs, no vines, nor 



64 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOB ISBAELITISH SCHOOLS, 

pomegranates grow, where there is not even water to 
drink, and we and our cattle must dief At the com- 
mand of God, Moses gathered all the Israehtes, brought 
them before a rock, took his rod, smote the rock twice 
with it, and the water gushed forth in great abundance, 
BO that 'the people could drink to their heart's content. 

At some other time, the Israelites were visited also by 
serpents. Moses prayed to God in behalf of the people, 
and the Eternal informed him how to remove the evil, 
Moses made a serpent of brass, suspended it upon a pole, 
and every one who looked upwards towards this serpent 
of brass — looked up to God — was saved. 



§ 36. Difficulties arising from: Rebellions ob 
Individual Israelites 

Not alone the whole people often manifested their dis- 
content and rebellious spirit during their sojourn in the 
desert, but even individual Israehtes of high rank grossly 
sinned against God and Moses. 

Korah^ Dathan^ Ahiram^ with two hundred and fifty 
other Israelites, dissatisfied with the distribution of the 
offices, entered into a conspiracy against Moses and Aaron, 
saying: "Wherefore lift ye up yourselves above the con- 
gregation of the Eternal? The whole congregation is holy ; 
why then do you presume to be better than the rest? 
Moses stepped up to them and endeavored to pacify them 
by soft words. But in vain. Then a fire came from heaven 
and consumed these two hundred and fifty men, while the 
earth opened and swallowed alive Korah and the other 
ringleaders. When the Israelites saw this, they cried 
aloud and fled. But the next morning, they again mur- 
mured against Moses and Aaron, for they thought that 
these had caused the death of the rebels. This renewed 
rebellion brought upon them a destructive pestilence, which 
carried away fourteen thousand seven hundred persons. 
Aaron went quickly among the congregation, with the 
censer in his hand, to propitiate God, and. thus stay tha 
ravages of the pestilence. Hereupon God confirmed Aaron, 
by means of the following miracle, in his oiiice a^ high- 



BIBLIC.VL HISTORY FOR ISRVELTTISH SCHOOLS. 55. 

priest. Moses commanded that thirteen rods, one for 
each tribe, with the names of the several princes of the 
tribes inscribed upon them, should be laid up in the taber- 
nacle, that of the tribe of Levi bearing the name of Aaron. 
On the following morning it was discovered that Aaron's 
rod alone budded, bloomed, and yielded almonds. The 
Israelites perceived from this sign that Aaron was the 
chosen high-priest of the Eternal. Henceforth, the rod of 
Aaron was kept near the Ark of the Covenant, as a per- 
petual warning for the rebels. 

At some other time, even Aaron and Miriam spoke 
against Moses, because he had married a stranger, saying: 
" God speaketh also through us, not alone through Muses.'* 
This repugnance of the nearest relatives of Moses provoked 
the wrath of God, who said: '^are ye not afraid to speak 
against my faithful servant Moses f and Miriam was im- 
mediately punished with leprosy. When Aaron saw her, 
he became afraid and implored Moses for forgiveness, both 
in his own and his sister's behalf Moses prayed to God 
for her, and God pardoned her ; but she was shut out from 
the camp seven days, and then only she was received la 
again. * 

The law concerning the Sabbath was deemed too heavy 
a burden by several Israelites. In spite of God's prohibi- 
tion, some went out on that day to gather Manna. Moses 
reproached them, saying: ''How long do you refuse to 
keep God's commandments ? Behold 1 the Eternal hath 
given you the Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the 
sixth day the bread for two days." Another man, how- 
ever, who was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day, 
was stoned to death, at the command of God, without the 
camp, before the whole congregation. 



§ 37. Wars with Neighboring Nations. 

Shortly after the Israelites had entered the wilderness, 
thsy were attacked by the Amalekites. Moses intrusted 
the command in this struggle to his gallant and faithful 
servant Joshua. He himself went upon a hill and uplifted 
his hands in fervent prayer to God. The Israelites having 



58 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 

Moses all the time before their eyes, felt inspired for the 
contest, jxnd fought bravely and victoriously, as long as 
they beheld his hands raised towards heaven. When the 
victory was gained, Moses erected an altar and called it : 
" God (is) my banner T' 

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, having heard of this victory 
and all the miracles which God had wrought through 
Moses,* went with Zipporah, the wife of Moses, and their 
two sons, to the camp of the Israelites. Moses rejoiced 
at their arrival, brought them into his tent, told Jethro all 
that God had already done for his people. Jethro deeply 
moved by the narrative, exclaimed: "Now I know that 
the Eternal is misfhtier than all the o^ods. On the folio win or 
day, Moses sat to judge the people from morning unto the 
evening. When Jethro saw this, he said to him: "The 
thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear 
away, both thou and the people; for this thing is too 
heavy for thee ; thou art not able to perform it thyself 
alone. Follow my counsel : teach the people good laws 
and ordinances, and show them distinctly what they should 
do. Moreover, provide out of all the people, able and 
honest men, who fear God, men of truth and hating selfish- 
ness. Make these rulers over thousands, over hundreds, 
over fifties, and over tens, and let only the most important 
matters be brought before thyself" Moses obeyed the 
advice of his father-in-law, and shortly afterwards dismis- 
sed him again to his own home. 

When the Israelites, alter wandering forty years through 
the desert, approached the land of Edom^ which was in- 
habited by the descendants of Esau, Moses sent messengers 
to their king, with the request to let Israel pass through 
his country. But this request was rudely and abruptly 
refused. Now the Israelites showed themselves more 
generous ; they did not attack them, not willing, as the 
Edomites were related to them, to shed the blood of their 
brethren, but moved toward Mount IIo)\ where Aaron 
died, being 123 years old, and was bewailed and mourned 
over by the whole people of Israel. 

But the Amorites and their king, Sihon^ were not treated 
in the same generous manner by the Israelites. When 
they, too, would not iiermit them to pass peaceably through 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 57 

their country, they attacked the Israelites, and the latter 
were compelled, in self-defence, to make war upon them, 
defeated them, and took possession of their land. Og^ 
King of ^a5/^a7^, who acted in the same manner as the 
King of the Amorites, brought the same destruction upon 
his nation. The lands of these kings were afterwards as- 
signed to the tribes of Meuhen and &ad and half the tribe 
of Manasseh^ under the condition however, that they 
should go with their brethren over the Jordan and assist 
them in the conquest of Canaan. Near the boundary of 
this country, Moses and Eleazar, who had succeeded his 
father Aaron in the office of high-priest, numbered the 
people, the men from twenty years old and upward — with 
the exception of the tribe of Levi, which, comprising the 
priests and ministers of God, received no portion at the 
division of the land of Canaan — and found that there were 
six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty 
men who could bear arms, none of whom, with the ex- 
ception of Joshua and Calebs were amongst those that 
Moses and Aaron had mustered in the wilderness of SinaL 
The fate of the Amorites greatly alarmed BaUik^ King 
of MoaJ)^ when he saw the approach of the numerous host 
of the Israelites. In this dread, he sent to a distant coun- 
try for Balaam^ a renowned sorcerer, and requested him 
to curse Israel, for he believed that the curse of this man 
would be fulfilled. The messen2:ers of the kino- came to 
Balaam with precious gifts ; but when he refused to com- 
ply with the request of Balak, other messengers of still 
higher rank, and bearing still more precious gifts were 
sent. Balaam again refused ; yet, on the following morn- 
ing he at last consented and departed with them. When 
Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went forth to 
meet him, and then led him to a high eminence, whence 
he could see the whole camp of the Israelites. Here 
Balaam caused the king to build altars and offer sacrifices. 
Instead, however, as it was expected, of pronouncing the 
curse, Balaam blessed Israel. Balak then led him upon 
another eminence ; but he again pronounced a benediction. 
And when the king led the sorcerer upon a third emi- 
nence, a third blessing was pronounced. '^For,'^ said 
Balaam, ''the word that God hath put in my mouth, tbut 



58 BIBIJCAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

I have spoken.** Afterwards Israel became involved in a 
war with the Midionites, and the latter were defeated, and 
their land taken. Amongst the slain was also Balaam the 
sorcerer. 



§ 38. Moses sends Spies into Canaan. The Close oi 
Israel's Wanderings in the Wilderness. 

In the second year after the exodus from Egypt, Moses 
gent spies to Canaan, that they might explore the land and 
report to the Israelites both with regard to its inhabitants 
and its fruitfulness. Twelve men, one from every tribe, 
departed upon this expedition. After the lapse of forty 
days, they returned, and reported as follows ; " The land 
which we have explored is good and fruitful : behold these 
fruits which we have brought thence " — pointing to a large 
cluster of grapes and other fruits — '4t is a land that 
floweth, as it were, with milk and honey. But its inhabi- 
tants are giants, compared with whom we are like grass- 
hoppers." Upon Jieari ng these words, the people became 
greatly alarmed, cned aloud and wept the whole night. 
Joshua and Caleb, who were among the spies, contradicted 
the report of their companions, and addressed the people, 
saying: ''Only rebel not ye against the Eternal, neither 
fear ye the people of the land, for they are like bread for 
us." But the Israelites would not listen to them, attempted 
even to stone the speakers to death, and resolved to elect 
a chief, and to return to Egypt. But the Lord suddenly 
appeared and said unto Moses: ''How long will this peo- 
ple provoke me "? And how long will it be ere they believe 
me, notwithstanding all the signs which I have wrought 
among them 1 I will smite them with the pestilence and 
utterly destroy them, and will make of thee a greater 
nation and mightier than Israel is." Now, upon this oc- 
casion Moses manifested his sublime virtues and his love 
for his people. Ills happiness was of the least concern to 
him ; the imminent danger of the destruction of his people ^ 
tilled him with profound grief, and he implored God to 
pardon their iniquity. Then said the Lord : " I have 
pardoned according to thy word. But as truly as I live, 
all those men who have seen my miracles which I did in 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS, 59 

Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now 
t})ese ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice, 
surely tliey shall not see the land which I swore unto their 
fathers, the land of Canaan, but they shall all die in the 
wilderness; but unto their children I shall give it for an 
inheritance. After the number of the days in which the 
land was searched, ye shall atone for your iniquities forty 
years, and wander about in the desert. Only Joshua and 
Caleb, because they have clung faithfully to me, they shall 
come into the promised land." Moses communicated these 
words to the people, and they mourned greatly. 

Shortly before the close ot these forty years, the Israel- 
ites came into the wilderness of Zm, where Miriam died 
and was buiied. 



§ 39. MosEs' Farewell Address to his People. His 
Death. [Deuteronomy i.-xxxv.] 

When the forty years were drawing to their close, and 
the time approached that Moses was to die, he assembled 
the whole people, and publicly and solemnly admonished 
them never to depart trom the law of God. ^'Ye shall 
add nothing to it," he continued, '• nor diminish aught 
from it, but observe the commandments of the Eternal 
your God. For this is your wisdom and your understand- 
ing in the sight of the nations^ which shall hear all these 
statutes and say : 'Surely this great nation is a wise 
AND UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE.' FoT what iiatiou is there 
so great, to which God is nigh, as the Lord our God in 
all things for which we call unto him % And what nation 
is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so 
righteous as all these laws, which I set before you this 
day "? Therefore, forget not what ye have heard and seen, 
but relate it unto your children, and your children's child- 
ren. Specially remember the day that ye stood before 
God on Sinai, where the Lord spoke unto you out of the 
midst of the fire and the clouds. For ask of the days that 
are past, whether there hath ever been a people that heard 
the voice of God as ye have heard ; or whether God hath 
ever chosen for himself a nation like yourselves, by so 



60 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISUAELlTISll SCHOOLS. 

many wonders, and by war, and by so mighty a hand? 
Thou hast seen it, that thou mightest know ; the Lord be 
YOUR God, and there is none besides Him 1 The Lord 
hath chosen you^ not because ye were more in number than 
any people, for ye were the fevnest of all people : hut hecaicse 
the JSternal loved you^ and because He would keep the oath 
which He had sioorn unto your fathers. And forget not 
the way which He led you these forty years, and gave you 
bread to eat, and water to drink in the wilderness. Be- 
hold ! the heaven and the heaven of heavens are the Lord's 
thy God, and the earth also with all that therein is, and 
yet He hath chosen you to be His peculiar people. There- 
fore, be no more stiff-necked. The Lord your God is Lord 
of Lords, a great God, mighty and terrible, who regardeth 
not persons, nor taketh reward; who doth execute the 
judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the 
stranger, I call heaven and earth to witness this day 
against you, that I have set before you life and death, a 
blessing, if you obey the commandments of God, and a 
carse, if you do not obey." And Moses said furthermore 
to the children of Israel : ^*I am hundred and twenty years 
old this day ; I can no more go out and come in. Joshua, 
he shall henceforth be your leader. Fear not, the Lord 
will ever watch over you : He will not fail you, nor for- 
sake you." Moses then called unto Joshua, and said unto 
him, in the sight of all Israel: *' Be strong and of good 
courage. Thou shalt bring this people into the promised 
land, and divide it among the tribes. Fear not, nor be 
dismayed ; the Lord will be with thee, He will not forsake 
thee." Hereupon Moses delivered the book of the law, 
which he had written, unto the priests, and said to them : 
''Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the 
Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, and at the end 
of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of re- 
lease7 on the Feast of Tabernacles, ye shall read this law 
before all Israel in their hearing." Having closed this 
speech, Moses recited a song which he had written, and 
left it to the Israelites for a memento, took leave from the 
tribes of his people, blessed them, and went up from the 
plains of Moab to the Mountain of N'ebo, to the top ol 
Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. There the Eternal 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. Gl 

showed him the whole land of Canaan, and said : *' Thia 
is the land which I have sworn unto the descendants of 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I have caused thee to see it 
with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither." The 
sight of the beautiful land filled the soul of the great 
prophet with delight ; he thanked God for the love shown 
unto his people, closed his eyes, and fell asleep to awake 
in the promised laud of eternity. Such is the death of the 
champion of Virtue ; his last thoughts are engaged with 
the happiness of his beloved ones — his last wish is the 
salvation of mankind. 

Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he 
died ; his eye was not dim, nor his natural strength abated. 
There arose no other prophet like Moses, who knew God 
so clearly, and to whom God so often and so manifestly 
revealed Himself He was buried in the valley near the- 
mountain where he died , but no man knowe the place of 
his grave^ even to this day. 



62 BIBLICAL UISTOUr FOK ISKAELITISH SCHOOIA 



IV. 

ISRAEL AS A NATION. 

A. Joshua.— The Judges. 



§ 40. Joshua. — The Conquest of Canaan. [The Book 
of Joshua i.] 2533 A.M. 

God's promise to give the Isi-aelites the land of Canaan, 
was now brought to its fulfilhnent. After the death of 
Moses, God said to tToshua, the disciple and chosen suc- 
cessor of the great prophet, and who was a better warrior 
than his master : '' My servant Moses is dead ; now there- 
fore, arise, go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, 
unto the land which I give to you. As I was with Moses, 
so I will be with thee. Be strong and of good courage, 
aud let this book of the law not depart from thy mouth ; 
do not depart from the law of Moses, either to the right 
hand or to the left ; then thou shalt have success in all 
that thou undertakest." Joshua at once made ready, to- 
gether with his people to march upon Canaan. Prudent 
as he was, he sent, before he marched forth, two men as 
spies into the land, to survey it. When they returned 
with favorable and encouraging reports, he broke up with 
his people to invade Canaan. On the opposite side of 
Jordan he erected a monument of twelve stones, in com- 
meuH^ration of his happy passage over the river, and then 
continued his march towards Jericho. Jericho was so 
strongly fortified, that no one could go in or come out. \ 
But God gave this city into the hands of the Israelites 
without battle ; its inhnbitants were put to death, and all 
their silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron were 
consecrated unto God. Achan, who had secretly taken 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 63 

fiome of the booty to himself, was stoned to death for this 
trespass. 

The Israelites then marched upon Ai and captured also 
this city. After the capture of Ai, Joshua erected an 
altar on Mount JSbal, and read the whole law before the 
people. There was not a word of all that Moses had com- 
manded which Joshua did not fulfill. The Levites spoke 
with a loud voice before all the people: ''Cursed be the 
man that maketh any idol and worshipped it !" and all 
the people said, " Amen !" '' Cursed be he that disgraceth 
his father or mother!" and all the people said: "Amen!" 
''Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's land-mark!" 
and the whole people said, "Amen !" " Cursed be he that 
maketh the blind to lose his way!" and all the people s^iid, 
"Amen!" "Cursed be the man that perverteth the judg- 
ment of the stranger, the fatherless and the widow!" and 
all the people said, " Amen!" 

Hereupon, the war, which the Israelites carried on with 
great courage and bravery, was continued seven years, 
during which they conquered thirty small kingdoms. The 
inhabitants of Canaan, with whom God was greatly dis- 
pleased on account of their sins and idolatry, resisted in 
vain with all the strength of despair ; they were defeated, 
and either fell during the contest, or were compelled to 
flee and seek another home. The small tribe of the Gibeon- 
ites escaped by a cunning stratagem. Some men with torn 
shoes and mouldy bread appeared before Joshua, describ- 
ing themselves as coming from a far distant country, and 
imploring him to make a treaty of peace with them. 
Joshua, regarding their garments and whole conduct as a 
confirmation of their words, unhesitatingly complied with 
their request, and concluded with them a treaty of peace. 
But soon he found that he had been imposed upon, those 
men proving to have been sent by the Gibeonites. Never- 
theless, he did not treat them as enemies, but kept his oath 
sacred. Moreover, when the Gibeonites were attacked 
by five neighboring piinces, the Israelites, faithful to their 
treaty, came to their aid, and defeated their enemies. 

Joshua made also arrangements with the view of pre- 
serving the ceremonial observances connected with divine 
worship, as prescribed by the law of Moses. He iutro* 



64 BIBLICAL HISTOKr FOB ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

duced the general observance of the Covenant of Abraham, 
and celebrated the Passover Festivals. After seven years 
of warfare he divided the land, both the conquered and 
the unconquered portions thereof, among the nine and a 
half tribes, leaving to each tribe to conquer the rest be- 
longing to him. The tribe of Levi had forty-eight cities 
assigned to them, as they lay scattered over the territories 
of the other tribes. 



§ 41. Joshua's Pakttng Address — His Death. 
[Book of Joshua, xxiii. xxiv.] 

After a long time of rest in the land of Israel, when 
Joshua felt that his end was approaching, he assembled 
the chiefs of Israel, together with all the people, around 
him, and said to them : " I am old, and soon shall go the 
way of all the earth. But be ye courageous, and consider 
that the Lord left not one word unfulfilled of all that He 
had promised unto us through Moses. But, as all good 
things are come upon you which the Lord promised you, 
so shall He bring upon you all the evil things, when ye 
have transgressed the covenant of God and served other 
gods. Now, therefore, keep and do all that is written in 
the Book of the Law, that ye turn not aside therefrom, 
eitlier to the right hand or to the left." 

Shortly afterwards, Joshua assembled the people once 

more at Shechein^ and said unto them: •"God has given 

you a land which ye have not tilled, and cities which ye 

built not, and vine-yards and olive-yards which ye planted 

not. Now, therefore, be thankful to the Lord, fear Him, 

and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: But if it seem 

evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom 

you will serve ;• but as for me and my house, we will serve 

Itheiiord." And the people answered: ^' God forbid that 

' we should forsake the Lord ; we also will serve the Lord, 

^for He is our God." Then said Joshua to the people : 

''You cannot serve the Lord and strange gods, for the 

Lord is a holy and jealous God : He will not forgive your 

transgressions, nor your sins." The people answered again, 

saying : " Nay, but we will serve the Lord." Then said 



BIBLICAL HISTOKT FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 65 

Joshua: ^'Tou are mtness against yourselves that you 
have chosen the Lord to serve Him." They answered : 
"We are witnesses'" Whereupon Joshua said to them : 
**Now, therefore, put away the strange gods that are 
among you, and henceforth incline your heart unto the 
Lord God of Israel alone." The people exclaimed: ''The 
Lord our God will we serve, and his voice we will obey !" 
And they fulfilled their vow as long as Joshua lived, and 
also some time afterwards, during the days of the Elders 
that overlived him. He wrote all these thingrs in a book 
of law, took a great stone, and set it up there under an 
oak near the Sanctuary of the Lord for a memorial. He 
then dismissed them, every man to his inheritance. 

Shortly afterwards he died at the age of a hundred and 
ten years, and was buried in the mount of Ephraim. But 
the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up 
from Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in a parcel of ground 
which Jacob had bought 



42. The Judges. [Book of the Judges.] 

After the aeath of Joshua, the Israelites had no longer 
a common chief. There was no unity among the several 
tribes. While each of them attended to its own affairs, 
they weakened each other by bloody civil wars. They 
forgot the benefits which God had shown to their fore- 
fathers, and weary of the strict laws of Moses, intermar- 
ried with the heathens that had been permitted to remain 
in the country, and thus were led astray to adopt their 
manner, vices, and idolatrous practices. On account of 
these aberrations, God forsook them. Whenever they did 
evil, He delivered them into the hand of their enemies, 
by whom they were heavily oppressed. Whenever they 
returned from their sinful ways, God awakened inspired 
and enlightened men among them, to lead them to victory 
over their enemies. These men did not only procure for 
them peace from external enemies, but also — at least many 
of them — strove to preserve in their midst the belief in the 
living God. These men were called Judges, {Shophethn,) 
because they vindicated the rights of their people against 



66 BIBLICAL HXSTORT FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

their enemies; and some of them filled moreover, the 
highest judicial offices in their domes ic affairs, {Deborah^ 
Samuel.) Holy Writ enumerates fifteen of these Judges, 
who ruled during more than three hundred years over 
Israel, and mentions their names in the following order : 
1, Othniel ; 2, Ehud; 3, 8hamgar ; 4, Barak and 
jbehorah; 5, Gideon; 6, Abimelech; 7, Tolah; 8, Jair; 
9, tTephtah; 10, Ihzan; 11, Elon; 12, Ahdon; 13, Sam 
son; 14, Eli; 15, Samuel, 

The first judge over Israel was Othniel. He delivered 
the Israelites from the hand of the Mesopotamian king, 
whereupon the land enjoyed peace for forty years. After 
the death of Othniel, the Israelites again did evil, and the 
Lord punished them by giving them up for eighteen years, 
to the power of the king of the Moabites. They prayed 
to God for help from their misery, and he inspired Ehud 
to be their deliverer, who procured them peace and tran- 
quility for eighty years. He was succeeded by Shamgar^ 
who defeated the Philistines and thus liberated the Israel- 
ites from their enemies. But soon the Israelites again 
forgot their God, in punishment for which they were given 
up to thn oppression of Jahin, king of Hazor, for twenty 
years. When the Israelites repented and cried unto the 
Lord, He inspired Deborah, a pious woman, to become 
their deliverer. She urged upon Barak, in the name of 
God to make war upon the enemy, and marched herself 
at the head of the Israelitish army to the battle-field, 
assisted in putting the Canaanites to flight, and perpetuated 
this glorious victory by a hymn of praise and thanks, 
which she composed and sang, together with Barak, after 
the battle, in glorification of the Lord. 



§ 43. The Judges. (Continued.) 

After the lapse of several years, the Israelites again did 
evil in the sight of God, wherefore he delivered them over 
into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. At that 
time, there lived a man in Israel, Gideon^ of the tribe of 
Manasseh, surnamed Jerabbaal, from his struggle against 
the idolatrous worship of Baal. God appointed him to 



BIBLICAL mSTOIlY FOR ISRAELmSII SCHOOLS. 67 

be the deliverer of the Israelites, when they cried unto 
Him for help. Gideon was just thrashing wheat in a wine- 
press, to hide it from the Midianites who swept over the 
land as grasshoppers and laid it waste, so thut the Ii^rael- 
ites had almost nothing left whereon to live, when he re- 
solved to break the heavy yoke which the strangers had 
laid upon his nation. When the Midianites came again 
into the land to devastate it, he marched against them with 
an army of thirty-two thousand men. Bat God said to 
him : " The people that are with thee, are too many for 
me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel 
vaunt themselves against me, saying, Our own hand have 
saved us. Now, therefore, proclaim in the ears of the peo- 
ple, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return 
to his home ! And there returned twenty-two thousancj 
men. ]3ut God continued, saying: " The people are yet 
too many." Hereupon Gideon retained only three hundred 
men. During the night, God said to him : " Go down 
into the valley where the enemies have pitched their tents." 
When Gideon arrived there, he saw men and camels with- 
out number, and heard a Midianite speak to his fellow, 
saying: *' Behold, I have just dreamed that a cake of 
barley bread had come into the tent and overturned it." 
*'This means nothing else," replied the other, "than that 
we shall be defeated by Gideon." When Gideon heard 
these speeches, he thanked God and returned to liis men 
full of joy. divided them into three companies, and gave 
every one a trumpet into one hand, and a pitcher with a 
lamp in it into the other. He then said to them: "Now 
look on me, and do as I shall do ; when I blow with a 
trumpet, then blow ye the trumpets also, and cry, The 
sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" The men did as he 
had directed them, and the whole army of the enemy 
became so panic-stricken and confused that they took to 
flight and did not even venture to turn their heads. Gideon 
pursued and slew them. After this victory, the Israelites 
again enjoyed peace for forty years. In gratitude for their 
delivery by Gideon, the Israelites offered him the heredit- 
ary rule over them, but he refused to accept it, and pre- 
ferred a quiet life in his native city. But after his death, 
his son Abimelech aspired to the rule, which his father 



68 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELinsn SCHOOLS. 

had rejected, and slew, to accomplish his object, his seventy 
brothers on one stone. Only .the youngest of Gideon's 
sons, Jotham^ escaped. He went upon the sunwiit of 
Mount Gerizim, lifted up his voice and exclaimed : 
" Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may 
hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to 
anoint a king over them ; and they said unto the olive 
tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto 
them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they 
honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the 
trees'? And the trees said to the fig-tree. Come thou, and 
reign over us. But the fig-tree said unto them. Should I 
forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be 
promoted over the trees "i Then said the trees unto the 
vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said 
unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God 
and man, and go to be promoted over the trees ^ Then 
said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou and reigu 
over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth 
ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust 
in my shadow; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, 
and devour the cedars of Lebanon. Now, therefore, if ye 
have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made 
Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal 
and his house, and have done unto him accordino: to the 
deservmg of his hands; (for my father fought for you, 
and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the 
hand of Midian: And ye are risen up against my father's 
house this day, and have slain his sons, threescore and ten 
persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the 
son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, 
because he is your brother ;) if ye then have dealt truly 
and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, 
then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in 
you^ but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and 
devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo ; and 
let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the 
house of Millo, and devour Abimelech." After finishing 
this speech Jothcun fied to a distant region of the country. 
Abimelech had reigned not more than three years, when 
discord arose between him and the people of Shechem, 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 69 

the same who had raised him to the office of Judge. 
Gaal, the son of Ebed, and his brothers went about in 
Shechern and conspired ao^ainst him, saying: " Who are 
we, and who is Abimelech, that we should serve him"? If 
I were your luler, I should remove him." When Abime- 
lech lieard of this, he. gathered his people, took Shechem, 
Blew its inhabitants, and destroyed the city. He set also 
fire to the tower (citadel) of Shechem, and thus caused the 
death of those that had taken refuge therein. But when 
he attempted to burn also the tower of Thebez, together 
with the people that had fled into it, God revealed His 
unfailing justice: "a woman cast a piece of a mill-stone 
upon his head, which broke his skull. Then he called 
hastily unto the young man his armor-bearer, and said 
unto him, Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not 
of me, A woman slew him. And the young man thrust 
him through, and he died." Now, when his men saw that 
he was dead, they departed, every man to his home. 

After Abimelech, Tola and Jair were successively 
JudQ:es in Israel. When the Israelites asrain followed the 
paths of sin and iniquity, God delivered them over to the 
power of the Ammonites. Then the elders of Gilead went 
to Jephtah., a valiant and mighty fellow-citizen of theu's, 
whom they had expelled from their city, and entreated 
him to be their captain in the war with the Ammonites. 
But he said to them : '' Did not ye hate me, and expel me 
.out of my father's house? And why are ye come unto 
me now Avhen ye are in distress"?" The elders replied: 
'' Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou may est 
go with us and fight against the children of Ammon, and 
afterwards be our ch'ef " Then Jephtah went with the 
elders, and the people made him then' captain and leader. 
Before, however, he went to war, he sent messengers to 
the king of the Ammonites, to demand of him to desist 
from his hostilities. But when the king would not com- 
ply with the demand, Jephtah prepared for war. Before 
engaging in battle, he made a vow, saying: ''If God will 
grant me a victory over our enemies, then it shall be, 
that whatever cometh forth of the doors of my house to 
meet me first when I return in peace from the children of 
Ammon, shall surely be consecrated unto the Lord I I 



70 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

will offer it up for a biinit offering." Jephtah gained f e 
victory, and when he leturned to his home, behold! his 
only daughter and child came out to meet him with tim- 
brels and with dances. When he saw her, lie rent his 
clothes and exclaimed: ''Alfis! my daughter! thou hast 
brought me very low, and causest me deep grief of the 
heart, for I have made a vow unto the Lord, and I can 
not recall it." Then she said : "Do as thou hast vowed. 
But one thing, I pray thee, do for me ; Let me alone but 
two months, that I may go into the mountains and bewail, 
with my playmates, the sad fate that now awaits me." 
Her father granted her request, and then performed his 
vow. Jephtah was six years Judge over Israel. His 
successors were Ibzan, JElon^ Abdon, and the strong 
Samson. 



§ 44. The History of Sampson. [Book of the Judges 

xiii.-xvi.] 

There lived a man in Zorah, named Jfanoah, who had 
no children. At last an angel of God announced to him 
the birth of a son, that should become the deliverer of the 
Israelites from the hands of the Philistines, who, at that 
time oppressed them most severely. His wife afterwards 
bare hhn a son, as the angel had foretold him, and he 
called him 8a7nson. His parents resolved that he should 
be consecrated to God, that is, become a Nazarite : no 
razor should come on his head, he should not be permitted 
to drink wine or any other strong beverage, or eat any 
thing unclean, throughout his lile. When Samson had 
reached the age of manhood, he went to Timnath, a city 
of the Philistines. Here he saw a Philistine maiden with 
whom he was so much pleased, that he requested his 
^ parents to get her for him as his wife. But they said to 
him: ''Is there no woman among the daughters of thy 
relatives, or among all thy people, that thou shouldest go 
to take a wife .of the heathen Philistines'? But Samson 
insisted upon his request, saying: "Get her for me, for 
she pleaseth me well " This marriage, he thought, would 
afiord him opportunity to reward the Philistines for the 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 71 

heavy oppression under which they made the Israelites to 
suffer. After some time when Samson w^ent down to 
Tiranath with his jDarents, he met a young Uon and rent 
him, with his bare hands, as he would have rent a kid. 
A few days after, he found a swarm of bees and honey in 
the carcass of the lion. He took thereof, ate it, and 
brought some of ic also to his parents. 

When his nuptial feast was celebrated, Samson said to 
his thirty Philistinian companions: '' I will now put forth 
a riddle to you ; if ye can so've it within the seven days 
of the feast, then I will give } o i thirty shirts and thirty 
festival garments ; but if you can not solve it, then you 
shall give me thirty shirts and thirty festival garments." 
They replied : " Tut forth thy riddle, that we may hear 
it." Then said Samson : " Out of the eater came forth 
meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness," After 
having in vain attempted, for three days, to solve the 
riddle, the young men went to his Avife and threatened to 
set the house of her father on fire, if she did not entice her 
husband to tell her the solution. Hereupon Samson's wife 
wept a long time before him, until he told her the solution, 
which she communicated Ifo his companions. Angry at 
this, he. went out and slew thirty Philistines, took their 
garments and gave them to the young men. Then he re- 
turned to his parents, leaving his Avife with her father. la 
the mean while, her parents married her to another man, 
which afforded Samson a just cause for an attack upon the 
Philistines. 

Having returned, some time afterward, to Timnath, 
his father-in-law would not admit him into his house, say- 
ing : " I thought indeed that thou hadst utterly hated her, 
therefore I gave her to another man." Burning with 
anger, on account of this treatment, Samson went and 
caught three hundred foxes, coupled them together by 
thek tails, took torches and put one of them in the midst 
between each couple of the foxes, tied to their tails. He 
then set the torches on fire, and let the foxes loose into 
the corn-fields of the Philistines, so that their entire crop 
was burned down. In revenge for this, the Philistines 
burned his wife and her father to death- This deed Sam- 
son avenged likewise by a greater slaughter among the 



72 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

Philistines. After this, he went into the desert of Judah, 
and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. The Philistines then 
marche 1 forth and pitched tlieir tents in Judah. To avert 
all danger, the men of Judah delivered Samson bound 
into their hands. But as soon as he was in the midst of 
his enemies, he burst the cords that were upon his arms 
as flax, took a fresh jaw-bone of an ass and slew one thou- 
sand men therewith. Soon after this he went to Gaza. 
The inhabitants of this city laid wait for him all niglU, to 
kill him. But about midnight he rose, seized the doors 
of the gate of the city, raised them from their hinges, put 
them upon his shoulders, and carried them upon the top 
of a mountain. 

After that^ he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek^ 
whose name was Delilah. The Philistines went to her 
with the lequest to find out the secret of his extraordinary 
strength, and promised her rich rewards if she should 
succeed. Upon her question to Samson, wherein his 
strength consisted, he replied: "If they bind me with 
seven green withs that were never dried, then I shall be 
weak." When Delilah bound him with such withs, he 
burst them as a thread. Then said Delilah : " Behold, 
thou hast mocked me ; now tell me, I pray thee, where- 
with thou mightest be bound." He replied : " If they bind 
me fast with new ropes, then shall I be weak." And 
Delilah bound him with new ropes, but he tore them from 
his arm like a thread. When Delilah saw this, she said 
to him thou hast again mocked me; tell me, I pray 
thee, wherein thou mightest be bound." And he said: 
*' If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the 
web, then I shall be weak." But she found herself again 
deceived. Now she said to him : " How canst thou say, 
I love thee, when thou art not sincere toward me'?" Now, 
when she pressed him daily in this manner, he at last 
yielded and told her, that he would lose all his strength if 
his hair should be cut. When Delilah saw that he had 
opened his heart to her, she made him sleep upon her 
knees, called for a man, and caused him to shave off the 
seven locks of Samson's head. Then she exclaimed : ''The 
Philistines upon thee, Samson!" He awoke and tried to 

out as at other times, and shake himself, but soon found 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOH ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 73 

that his strength was departed. The Philistines took him, 
bound him, put out his eyes, and carried him to Gazci, to 
grind the mill in the prison house. 

When, some time after, the Philistines celebrated a 
feast in the temple of their idol Dagon^ they sent for 
Sampson, that he might afford them sport, and thus heighten 
their joy. But Sampson, feeling that his hair had grown 
again, and his strength returned, called unto God, and 
prayed: "O Lord! remember me, I pray Thee, and 
strengthen me, I pray Thee, only this once!" Then he 
took hold of the middle pillars upon which the house 
stood, and bent them with all his strength, exclaiming: 
" Let Samson die with the Philistines /' and the whole 
building fell upon the lords and the people gathered 
therein, so that all were buried under its ruins, together 
with Samson. His brethren and the whole household of 
his father came down and took his body, and buried him 
in the burying-place of his father. 



§ 45. Eli and Samuel. [1 Samuel i.-iv.] 

JEli was one before the last of the Judges, and at the 
same time Priest at Shiloh, where the Ark of the Coven- 
ant stood. Pious Israelites used to go there to offer sac- 
rifices to God and to thank Him foi' His blessings. Amongst 
these pious worshippers were also a man named JElkanah^ 
and his wife Hannah^ who went to Shiloh every year. 
Hannah was deeply grieved and wept, because she had no 
children ; even the friendly words of her husband could 
not comfort her. Once she entered the House of God 
weeping, and prayed in the following manner : " O Lord 
of hosts ! behold the afiliction of Thy handmaid ! Give 
unto me I pray Thee, a son, and I will give him unto 
Thee: he shall be consecrated unto Thee all the days of 
his life." While she thus prayed to God she was observed 
by Eli, who thought she was drunk, because he saw only 
her lips move, while her voice was not heard. And he 
said to her: "How long wilt thou be drunken^" Han- 
nah answered, and said: "No, my lord, I am a woman of 
a sorrowful spirit ; I have drunk neither wine nor strong 



74 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISII SCHOOLS 

drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord." 
Then Eli answered, and said : " Go in peace ; and the God 
of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of 
Him." Filled with cheerful courage, she returned home, 
ate and drank again, and was no longer sad. God had 
hearkened to her prayer : she had soon a son, whom she 
called SamueL 

When she had weaned her son, she took him to Eli, 
and said: "My lord, I am the woman that stood by thee 
here, praying unto the Lord. — For this child T prayevi, and 
the Lord hiit'o granted me my petition which I asked of 
Iliri : therefore also will I perforin my vow, and conse- 
crate this child unto the service of God all the days of his 
life." Eli took the boy, and trained him unto God-fearing 
piety and vu'tue. 



§ 46. The Sons of Ell 

Eli had two sons, named Hophni and PhineaSj who 
were very Avicked and mischievous lads. They feared 
neither God nor men, disturbed the Israelites in their 
pious devotions, stole the flesh of the sacrifices from the 
pots, and committed many other abominable excesses. 
Now it was the duty of Eli to punish his sons as severely 
as poosible, for their great misdeeds, but he did not per- 
form this duty ; he reproached them, it is true, for their 
evil conduct, and admonished them to improve; but they 
did not mind the exhortations of their father, who, more- 
over, was already too old, too feeble and lenient, to inflict 
more severe punishment upon them. But young Samuel 
was obedient to his teacher, grew very pious and good, 
and was in favor with God, and also with men. 

God having appointed Samuel for His prophet, revealed 
to him His intention severely to punish Eli and his sons, 
for^the iniquities of his house, the iniquities of his sons. 
This revelation was soon fulfilled. A war having broken 
out between the Israelites and the Philistines, Eii's sons 
inarched to the camp with the Ark of the Covenant, that 
it might be borne before the Israelitish warriors, and thus, 
as it was the symbol of the presence of God, inspire them 
with courage. With impatient anxiety did Eli wait 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITtSH SCHOOLS. 75 

for some intelligence concerning the fate of his people. 
At last a messenger arrived and said to him: ''Israel is 
fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a 
great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also 
are dead, and the Ark of God is in the hands of the en- 
emy." When the aged Eli, who was ninety-eight years 
old, heard this sad intelligence, he was struck with such 
fright that he fell from his chair, broke his neck and died, 
after having judged over Israel forty years. 



§ 47. The Mt^hitorious Acts of Samuel. 

The Philistines placed the Ark of the Lord in the temple 
of their idol god Dagon, For this profanation God sent 
a heavy plague upon them, so that their princes deter- 
mined to return the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites. 
Yet, the Israelites still remained in the power of their ene- 
my, Wherefore Samuel resolved to become their deliverer. 
He assembled the people at Mizpeh^ and told them what 
they ought to do, and what alone could be of avail to 
them. "^ If you," thus he spoke to them, '' do return unto 
the Lord with all your hearts, serve Him alone faithfully 
and sincerely. He will again deliver you out of the hand of 
your enemy." The people loudly confessed their sins, 
and fasted the whole day with profound repentance. While 
their trespass-offerings were yet burning upon the altar, 
the Philistines appeared to fight against them. Samuel 
prayed to God for his people, and a terrible thunder-storm 
broke upon the Philistines, which caused such confusion 
amongst them, that they took to flight. Thus the sincere 
repentance of the Israelites had proved a gi-eater help to 
them than their outward worship of the Ark of the Coven- 
ant. In memoey of this victory, Samuel took a stone, set 
it up between Mizpeh and Shen as a grateful memorial, 
and called it Eben-ezer^ saying: "Hitherto hath the Lord 
helped us." 

Every one now acknowledged that Samuel was a trust- 
worthy prophet. Under his rule, the affairs of the people 
improved. He admonished his brethren to remove the 
strange gods and serve the Lord alone ; he employed, in 



76 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SC3HOOU5. 

all possible manner, the time of peace for the revival of 
reli<j^ioas feelings. He travelled about the country to ad- 
minister justice, and established Schools of Prophets^ in 
which pious youths were instructed in Religion. To the 
very day of his death he li\ed and labored for the welfare 
of his people. 



§ 48. God tries and guides the Pious. [The Book ot 

Ruth.] 

In the days of the Judges, there lived a pious woman 
named Ruth, She was a Moabite, and married to a son 
of Elimelech, who had removed, during a famine in Ca- 
naan, with his wife Naomi and his two sons, into the land 
of Moab. Soon Elimelech and his two sons died ; where- 
upon, the poor, afflicted wife and mother resolved to re- 
turn to her native country Canaan, where she could still 
find some relatives and friends, and recover her lands. 
Her two daughters-in-law accompanied her a great dis- 
tance. But the hour of separation at last arrived. The 
three widows held each other firmly embraced ; the mem- 
ory of their beloved departed ones filled their hearts with 
grief and sadness ; tears gushed forth from their pious 
eyes ; the words died upon their lips. At last the kind 
mother addressed the following: words to her daug^hters : 
*' Return, I pray you, my daughters ; the Lord deal kindly 
with you as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me." 
Then she kissed them ; and they lifted up their voices, 
and wept, and they said unto her: ^'No, no! we will go 
with thee unto thy people." Now, Naomi entreated them 
Btill more urgently, saying: "Nay, ray daughters, for it 
grieveth me much for your sakes. Return to your homes I" 
Orpah now kissed her mother-in-law, and returned ; but 
Ruth clave unto her, and she said: "I cannot leave thee: 
whit4iersoever thou goest, I will go ; wherever thou lodg- 
est, I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, thy God 
shall be my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there 
will I be buried." Naomi embraced once more her faithful 
daughter-in-law, and took her with her to Bethlehem. 

And when they arrived there, all the city was moved 
about them, and they said: "Is this Naomi"?" And she 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOB ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. T7 

said unto them: <*Call me not Naomi, call me Mara, for 
the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." But 
Ruth, still possessed of youthful strength, willingly work- 
ed for her mother-in-law; she went out into the fields to 
s^lean ears of corn, and thus maintained herself and Naomi. 
Kind Providence so ordained it that Ruth should glean 
in the fields of the wealthy Boaz, who was a relative of 
Naomi. Observing her industry, he asked his reapers, 
saying: ''Who is yonder damsel that gleans so industri- 
ously?' They answered: ''It is Ruth, the daughter-in- 
law of Naomi: she has been here ever since early in the 
morning, gleaning continually^ without even looking 
around." Then Boaz went to her, and said : " Listen, my 
daughter. Go not to glean in another field, but abide 
here fast by my maidens. I have charored the young men 
that they shall not trouble thee, and when tbou art athirst, 
go unto the vessels and drink from them/' Then she fell 
on her fxce, and said: "Why have I founa sach grace in 
Inline eyes, although I am a stranger"?" Boaz answered, 
saying : " It hath fully been shown unto me all tkat thou 
hast done unto thy mother-in-law. May the Lord reward 
thee for thy noble deeds'" Thereupon Boaz commanded 
his young men purposely to let fall some of the ears tor 
her, that her gleanings might be more abundant. Ruth 
gleaned until evening, beat the corn out, and brought it home 
to her mother-in-law, besides some portions of her meals 
w^hich she had reserved for her. When Naomi heard that 
it was Boaz that had bestowed so much kindness upon 
her she told Ruth that he was her relative. And Boaz, 
who became more and more pleased with the industry and 
correct deportment of Ruth, married her, and was very 
happy in his wedlock. They had soon a son, whom they 
called Obecl And Naomi enjoyed again a happy life at 
the house of her daughter-in-law, for which she proved 
herself grateful. The well-being of Ruth was to her like 
her own, and she took hei child into her lap and became 
Lis uui'se. This Obed was the grand-father of David 



78 BIBLICAL HISTOBY POR ISBAELITISH SCHOOLS, 



B. The Kings over the Undivided Empire of 

Israel. 

§ 49. Saul raised to the Royal Throne. [1 Samuel 
viii.-xiv.] 2916 A.M. 

When Samuel had grown old and felt himself too weak 
to continue Judge over Israel, he resolved to transfer his 
office to his sons. But as these were wicked and avari- 
cious men, open to bribery, the people demanded of 
Samuel, that he should appoint a king over them, that they 
might be ruled as the neii2:hboring nations. This demand 
caused the displeasure of Samuel. But God said to him.: 
" Hearken unto the voice of the people, for they have not 
rejected thee, but they have rejected me^ that I should no 
longer reign over them. Now, therefore, hearken unto 
their voice, yet protest solemnly unto them, and show 
them the great evil which the rule of a wicked king will 
produce." In accordance with these words, Samuel ad- 
dressed the people, saying : 

''This will be the mannv3r of the king that shall reign 
over you : he will take your sons, and appoint them for 
himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen ; and 
some shall run before his chariots. 

"And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and 
captains over fifties ; and will set them to ear his ground, 
and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of 
war, and instruments of his chariots* 

''And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, 
and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 

" And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and 
your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to 
his servants. 

"And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your 
vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 



BIBLICAX HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 79 

^*And he will take your menservants, and your maid- 
eervants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, 
and put them to his work. 

''He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be 
his servants. 

''And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king 
which ye shall have chosen you ; and the Lord will not 
hear you in that day." 

But the people did not heed these representations of 
Samuel; they insisted upon their demand, saying: "Nay, 
but we will have a king over us ; that we also may be like 
all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go 
out before us, and fight our battles." When Samuel saw 
that the people would not yield, he said: "Go ye every 
man to his city." He then anointed, in the name of God, 
Saul, the son of an humble family of the tribe of Benja- 
min, king over Israel, and presented him as such to the 
people, who were rejoiced and shouted : " God save the 
kingl" But some discontented and envious men exclaim- 
ed: "How shall this man save usf and despised Saul. 
He, however, pretended not to have heard this remark, 
and held his peace. 

Soon an opportunity presented itself to him, to show 
himself as a gallant man and the deliverer of his brethren. 
Having heard that the Ammonites had laid siege to the 
Israelitish city JTabesh-gilead^ and demanded that the in- 
habitants should lose their right eyes for a reproach unto all 
Israel, his indignation was roused, and he took a yoke of 
oxen, cut them to pieces, and sent these to all the places 
of Israel, with these words: "Whoever cometh not forth 
after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his 
oxen." All Israel marched out with one consent against 
the Ammonites, and defeated them completely. Delight- 
ed with this victory, the people exclaimed, saying: "Who 
are those that said, 'Saul shall not rei'jrn over us f brinsr 
the men that we may put them to deatli." But Saul said : 
" There shall not a man be put to death this day, for to- 
day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel." 

But king Saul did not continue pious and modest; his 
prosperity made him wicked, so that he did not obey the 
commands of God on all occasions. Daring a war with' 



80 BIBLICAl. HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

the Amalekites, the Lord had commanded him to slay 
every living being, and not even to spare their cattle ; for 
the Amalekites had attacked the Israelites without cause 
or reason, during their sojourn in the wilderness, and in- 
tended to destroy them. Contrary to the command of 
I God, Saul permitted his people to spare the best of the 
[cattle, and all that was good, and Imd it offered up for 
^ sacrifices. Samuel reproached him for this disobedience, 
baying : " Behold ; to obey is better than sacrifice ; diso- 
bedience is idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word 
of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee. The royal dig- 
nity shall be taken from thee ; and know, the God of 
Israel will not lie nor repent, for He is no man, that He 
should repent." Samuel then turned away from Saul, yet 
mourned for him, because God had rejected him. 



§ 50. David anointed King over Israel. [1 Samuel, 

XV. xvi. and xvii.] 

God said to Samuel: ''How long wilt thou mourn for 
SauU Go to Bethlehem, to Jesse, and anoint for me one 
of his sons as king over Israel." Samuel went to the 
house of Jesse and had his sons presented to him, that he 
might see which of them was the appointed one. But 
God said to him : " Look not upon their countenances, or 
on the heighth of their statures; the Lord seeth not as 
man seeth ; for man looketh upon the outward appear- 
ance, but the Lord looketh upon the heart." Not one of 
those presented to him could be anointed. Whereupon 
Jesse sent for his youngest son Davids who was then 
keeping the sheep in the field. David was of a beautiful 
countenance, and, what is still more precious, of a noble 
heart. Now God said to Samuel: ''Arise, anoint him, 
for this is the man ! Then Samuel took the horn of oil, 
and anointed him, in the midst of his brethren, as king 
over Israel. From that day David was more and more 
filled with the Spirit of the Lord, while Saul V)ecame 
sadder and sadder and fell into deep melancholy. David, 
who was very skillful in playing the harp, was brought to 
'the royal court, and cheered Saul, by the tmies of music, 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 81 

in the hours of his sadness. He became so much endeared 
to the king, that he made him his armor-bearer. 

When the PhiHstines again came to fight against Saul, 
a giant by the name of Goliath stepped forth from the 
army of the enemy, and exclaimed, full of pride and 
haughtiness, saying: "Who ventures to fight with me/? 
If one of you defeat me, then we all will be your servants ; 
but if I defeat him, then shall ye be our servants." When 
Saul and all Israel heard these words, they became greatly 
afraid, and no man would venture the contest with the 
giant. Now it so happened that David was present in 
the camp, just when Goliath again used that haughty lan- 
guage. He at once said: ''I will fight with this giant!" 
And when his brothers and other Israelites, as well as 
Saul, attempted to dissuade him from his determination, 
he answered : '* I have already smitten a lion and a bear 
with my hand ; the Lord will deliv^er me also out of the 
hand of this Philistine." He then took his shepherd's 
staff, his sling, and his shepherd's bag filled with smooth 
stones, and thus went forth to meet the Philistine. When 
Goliath saw David he disdained him, and said: "Am I a 
dog that thou comest to me with a staff? Come to me, 
and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air and to 
the beasts of the field." David answered and said: Thoic 
reliest upon thine own strength, but I come in the name 
of God, whom thou hast defied. Even this dav will the 
Lord deliver thee into my hand, and all the earth shall 
know that there is a God in Israel." When, at that mo- 
ment, the giant arose and drew nigh to meet David, the 
latter took a stone from his bag, slang it, and smote the 
Philistine in his forehead, so that he fell dead to the 
ground. David then took the sword of Goliath, and cut 
off his head therewit^h. When the Philistines saw that 
their champion had fallen, they were seized with fear, and 
driven to flight by the Israelites, 



82 BIBI.ICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SClIOOLft. 



51. Saul Persecitting David. [1 Samuel xviii.-xxiv. 
xxvi.-xxxi., and 2 Samuel L] 

i 

The victory which David had gained over Goliath, 
brought glory, happiness, but no less also persecution up- 
on him. Saul took him into his palace, and would no 
more permit him to return to his native place ; he placed 
him at the head of the ai*my ; and Jonathan, the son of 
Saul, loved him as his own soul, and made a covenant of 
friendship with him, which he kept most faithfully to the 
day of his death. But Saul began to be jealous of David ; 
his hatred against him increased every hour, because 
David was more honored by the people than Saul himself, 
and he feared that David might become king. One day, 
while David was playing on the harp before Saul, he cast 
a javelin at him, but missed him ; Saul hereupon removed 
him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand. 
But his hatred had not subsided ; he incessantly sought 
opportunities to take the life of David. On one occasion 
he promised to give him his daughter Michal to wife, if 
he would slay one hundred Philistines. Saul thought that 
David could never return alive from such a daring expe- 
dition ; but he was disappointed. David slew two hun- 
dred Philistines, and became Saul's son-in-law. The latter, 
nevertheless, continued to hate him and attempt his life, 
and would once have indeed succeeded in carrying out his 
revengeful design, had not Michal saved her husband. 
But in the same proportion that Saul's hatred against 
David grew, the love of Jonathan for him grew in strength 
and fervor. He took care to speak always with the 
highest praise of David, and endeavored to appease his 
father. "Let not the king sin against his servant, against 
David" — thus spoke Jonathan to his father — '* because he 
hath _not done the least evil against thee ; nay, he hath 
even risked his life for thee, and slain the Philistines: 
wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to 
slay David without a cause f 

But these intercessions of Jonathan's produced only a 
transient effect ; Saul's hatred soon avvoke again, and Jon- 
athan himself at last advised David no more to return to 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCUOOLS. 53 

the king's palace, because he still sought to kill him, but 
rather to tiee and escape. ^ . ^r v. . 

Upon his flight David came to the city of Nob, to 
Ahimelech the priest, who could not refuse the request of 
the king's son-in-law, and gave him bread and the sword 
of GoUath. Doeg, an Edomite, and one of Saul's servants 
who happened to be present, told the king what he had 
seen. The latter, thinking that Ahimelech was David's 
ally, caused eighty-five priests to be put to death, and de- 
Bti'oyed the whole city. 

Thereupon Saul pursued David to the most distant parts 
of the \^ilderness; but the latter, conscious of his in- 
nocence, confided in God, and found consolation in this 
confidence, saying: "God is my help, the Lord is the 
staff of my life ; God is with me, I will not fear ; what 
can men do unto mef* About five to six thousand men 
joined him in his flight from Saul's persecutions, and 
aUhough several opportunities presented themselves when 
he coiiTd have taken the life of the king, yet he was too 
iiuble hearted to take revenge upon his enemy, and too 
pious to lift his hand against the anointed head of his 
king. Once Saul pursued him with three thousand men, 
aiuf having entered a cave near the hiding-place of David, 
it was an easy matter for the latter to take his life. But 
the noble fugitive would do him no harm, He secretly 
C"^ a piece of the skirt of Saul's robe, and cried unto him: 
'•Eehold. my lord and king! the skirt of thy robe in my 
hand. Kaow and see that there is neither evil nor trans- 
I ristion in my hand, and that my heart designeth no sin 
agains:: thee." Whjn Saul heard these words he wept, 
and said to David: "Thou art more righteous than I. 
May the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done 

unto me this day." -r^ .^ . 

Siiortly afterwards, Saul again pursued David m the 
wilderness of Z^>A. One night, David entered with 
Abishai, the son of Zerujah, the camp of the king, and 
found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground, and 
a cruse of w^ater near by. At this sight, Abishai said to 
David : " God hath delivered thine enemy into thy hand 
this day: now, therefore, let me smite him, I pray thee, 
with the spear even to the eaith at once, so that he need 



84: BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

no second blow.'' But David said: '^ God forbid that I 
should stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed ! 
but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is near his 
bolster, and the cruse of w^ater, and let us go/' Abishai 
did as David had bidden him ; whereupon the latter went 
up to the top of a hill, and cried to Abner, the chief cap- 
tain of Saul, saying: ''Abner, art thou, not a manlike 
whom there is no other in Israeli Indeed 1 thou watches^ 
carefully over thy lord! Do but see where the king's 
spear is, ^md the cruse of water that was at his bolster I'' 
And to Saul he said: "Wherefore doth my lord thus pur- 
sue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil 
is in my hand ? Cursed be he that hath thus stirred thee 
up against me, that I can not abide in the land of tlie 
Lord V Saul again confessed his guilt, and said : " Re- 
turn, my son David; for I will no more do thee harm, 
because my soul was precious in thy eyes this day." 
David answered, and said: "Behold the king's spear! 
let one of the king s young men come over and fetch it. 
Tiie Lord may render to every one his righteousness and 
faithfulness! And thus they again parted with each 
other. 

The hostilities of Saul against David were now drawing 
to a close. Having been defeated in a battle with the 
Philistines, the king threw himself on his own sword. In 
this battle his three sons were also slain. The Philistines 
took the body of Saul and fastened it to the wall of Beth- 
shan^ as a token of their victory. When the inhabitants 
of tTahesh-gilead heard of this outrage, they travelled 
through a whole night, took the body of Saul at the risk 
of their lives, carried it to their city for interment, and 
fasted seven days on account of the death of their king. 

On the third day after the battle, a man of the tribe of 
the Amalekites, came to David, with his clothes rent, and 
earth upon his head, and informed him of the death of 
Saul and his sons. "I myself," he added, " have given 
him the last death-blow in his anguish, and brought thee 
hither his crown and bracelet." David replied, saying: 
" How wast thou not afraid to stetch forth thy hand to 
destroy the Lord's anointed? His blood be upon thy 
head!" lie then commanded one of his young men to 



BIBLICAL lUSTOKY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 85 

seize and slay him, and wept bitter tears of grief over 
Saul and his sons, and expressed his feelings in a most 
beautiful hymn of mourning ; but he was especially ag- 
grieved on account of the loss of his faithful friend Jona- 
than. "I am distressed," he exclaimed, ''for thee, my 
brother Jonathan! Very precious hast thou been mito 
me : thy love to me was wonderful^ passing the love of 
all others 1" 



§ 52. David, King of Israel. [2 Samuel ii.-xii.] 

After the death of Saul, David and his men went to 
Hebron^ where he was acknowledged as king by the tribe 
of Judah, and reigned seven and a half years. But the 
other tribes elected Ishhosheth^ the son of Saul, king over 
themselves. After two years, Ishbosheth was assassinated, 
and some time afterwards David became king over the 
whole nation. He defeated the neio-hboring: heathen 
nations, and extended his empire to the river Euphrates. 
He made Jerusalem the capital of the country, and had 
the Ark of the Covenant brought there with great exult- 
ation, festive processions and solemnities. His piety he 
manifested above everything by improving Divine Service. 
The sufferings which he had to endure during the years of 
his youth, taught him to Iool ip to God and cling to Him. 
He began also the erection of a magnificent palace, for 
which king J27ram, of Tyre, with whom he had made a 
treaty of commerce, furnished him with cedar- trees and 
carpenters. But being grieved that he should dwell in a 
magnificent house of cedar, whereas the Ark of God stood 
in a simple tent, he resolved to build a gorgeous temple to 
the Lord. But the prophet Nathan said to him, in the 
name of God: ''When thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, 
God will give thy kingdom unto thy son, and he shall 
build a Temple unto the name of the Lord." 

When Abner, one of Saul's captains, was treacherously 
murdered, David honored him with a solemn funeral, ac- 
companied him in person to his last resting-place, and pun- 
ished his murderers. Nor did he forget the covenant of 
friendship which he had concluded with Jonathan. As 



86 'BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

soon as he had learned that there existed a son of his, he 
restored his inlierltance to him, and invited him every day 
to his table. Both in prosperity and in adversity he looked 
up to God, and breathed forth the fervor of his soul in ; 
sacred songs, which we still possess in the Booh of the ' 
Psalms, that bears his name. 

But even once David committed a great sin, and thus 
sank deeper as a king than he could ever liave sunk as a 
simple shepherd. He sent a man to the army, and had a 
post assigned to him during battle, where his death was 
inevitable, and then took his wife. On account of this 
great crime, the prophet Nathan addressed a severe s]3eech 
of reproof to him, and, in the name of God, announced to 
him lasting misery. The speech of Nathan produced the 
deepest pain in the heart of David, which was followed by 
his most sincere and fervent repentance. Throughout the 
rest of his life he was filled with self-reproach; the joy of 
his days and the peace of his soul were gone. Although 
God ii.ad accorded him forgiveness, yet many a heavy 
trouble was the reward of his great sin. 

Wealth and honor cause oft pride. 

Bring dangers manifold ; 
Turn the heart from virtue's side. 

Its former strongest hold. 



§ 53. The Rebellion of Absalom. Death of David. 
[2 Samuel xiv.-xix. 1 Kings i. ii.] 

The greatest grief which befell David, was caused by 
his son Absalom. Absalom was a youth of great beauty, 
but also of a wicked heart, and continually flattered the 
people, stirring up, at the same time, their prejudices 
against the just administration of his father. By his 
crouching affability, he gained a number of adherents. 
He went even so far in his ambition, as to march upon Jeru- 
salem, with the view of robbing his father, both of his 
throne and liis life. David was compelled to flee, and 
*' went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept, as he 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 87 

went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: 
and all the people that wore with him covered every man 
his head, and they went up weeping, as they ascended the 
mountain." On his flight from Jerusalem, Shimei, of the 
family of Saul, met him and said to him : '' Come out, 
come out, thou bloody man ! thou wicked man ! The Lord 
now revengeth upon thee the blood of Saul, whose throne 
thou hast usurped ; now He has taken the crown from 
thee, and given it to thy son Absalom ! and behold ! now 
thou art in trouble, because thou art a bloody man!" 
Then said Abishai to the king: "Why should this dead 
dog curse my lord the king^ let me go over, I pray thee, 
and take off his head." David answered and said: *'Lct 
him curse. Behold! mino own son seeketh my life; how 
much more now may this Benjamite do it! It may be that 
the Lord will look upon my affliction and requite me good 
for his cursing this day." David continued on his way, 
but " Shimei went along on the hill's side over against 
him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and 
cast dust." J3arziUai, a venerable old man of eighty years, 
acted differently. He went to meet David, and furnished 
him and his men with provisions. 

David now gathered his men and intended to march in 
person against his rebellious son; but his faithful fol- 
lowers would not consent to this, and requested him to 
let them go to battle without him. David yielded, but 
commanded them, when they marched forth, saying: 
" Only spare my son Absalom !" The battle was fought, 
and the men of David defeated his enemies, twenty thou- 
sand of whom were slain, while the rest took to flight. 
Absalom, who rode on a mule, was caught with his long 
hair in the branches of an oak, so that his mule ran off 
from under him. A man who saw him in this situation, 
ran and told e/baS, who was the chief of David's men, that 
Absalom was caught in an oak. Joab took three darts in 
his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom. 
Then he commanded the trumpets to be blown to retreat, 
that the people might be spared. Two messengers went, 
one after the other, to announce to David that his people 
had gained the victory. The first of them would not, 
however, inform him of the death of Absalom. When 



88 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

the second had arrived, David again asked: '^ Is Absalom 
safe?" The messenger replied : May all the enemies of 
^ the king fare like Absalom I" When the king heard 
I this reply, '' he was much moved, and went up to the 
chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, thus 
he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! 
would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son! my 
son!" "And the victory that day Avas turned into mourn- 
ing unto the people, for the people heard that, day how 
the king was grieved for his son." 

David returned as king to Jerusalem, and was greeted 
by all the people with great rejoicing. Shimei also came 
and implored the king's forgiveness, when Abishai said: 
"Shall now Shimei be put to death for this because he 
cursed the Lord's anointed ?" But David said to Shimei : 
"Thou shalt not die." Others who had remained faithful 
to the king during the revolt, and among these the vener- 
able Barzillai, received the blessing of David, while their 
children received other substantial rewards. After some 
other calamities, the life of David drew to its close. 
When he felt that his end was approaching, he assembled 
the elders of Israel at Jerusalem and sa d to them: "Hear 
me, my brethren, and my people : As for me, I had in my 
heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant 
of the Lord ; but God said unto /ne. Thou shalt not build 
a house for my name, because thou hast been a man of 
war, and hast shed blood. Solomon, thy son, he shall 
build my house and my courts ; for I have chosen him to 
be my son, and I will be his father. Now, therefore, in 
the sight of all Israel, the congregation of the Lord, and 
in the audience of our God, teep and seek for all the com- 
mandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess 
this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your 
children after you forever. And thou, Solomon, my son, 
know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a 
perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord 
searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagina- 
tions of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found 
of thee ; but if thou forsake him, He will cast thee off 
forever." And the princes of Israel offered for the house 
of God five thousand talents of gold, ten thousand talenta 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS, 89 

of silver, eighteen thousand talents of brass, and one 
hundred thousand talents of iron ; and the people rejoiced, 
for they offered willingly with all their hearts ; and David 
also greatly rejoiced, and praised God, and spoke before 
^the whole congregation, saying: ^' Thine, O Lord, is the 
f greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, 
' and the majesty : for all that is in the heaven and in the 
earth is Thine ! Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou 
art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor 
come of Thee, and Thou reignest over all ; and in Thy hand 
is p w *r and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, 
and Uj gi/e strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God, 
we thaiiK Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. Bat who 
am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to 
offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of 
Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee. For we are 
strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as were all our 
fathers : our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there 
is none abiding. O Lord our God, all this store that we 
have prepared to build Thee a house for Thy holy name 
Cometh of Thine hand, and is all Thine own. I know also, 
my God that Thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in 
uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I 
have offered willingly all these things, and I have seen 
with joy how willingly Thy people have offered unto 
Thee. O Lord ! preserve forever such devotion and such 
thoughts in the heart of Thy people, and incline their 
hearts forever unto Thee. And unto my son Solomon give 
an upright heart, to keep Thy commandments, Thy statutes, 
to love Thee, and serve Thee forever." 

And when the hour had come that he was to die, he 
caused Solomon to be anointed king over Israel, and all 
the people exclaimed: "God save King Solomon!" Then 
David called Solomon to his bedside, and said to him : 
" I go the way of all the earth ; be thou therefore strong, 
I and show thyself a man ; walk in the ways of the Lord, 
and keep His commandments, 'that thou mayest prosjDer in 
all that thou doest." Then David fell asleep in the arms 
of death, and was buried in the " Citi/ of DaokV "And 



90 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 

the clays that David reigned over Israel were forty years; 
seven years reigned he in Hebron^ and thirty and thi'ee 
years reigned he in Jerusalem. 



I 



§ 54. Solomon. [1 Kings ii.-xi.] 

Solomon was the son of David, and disciple of the 
prophet Nathan — could he be but wise and pious? When 
he entered upon the government of Israel, he implored 
God. not for earthly treasures, but for wisdom and under- 
standing, and God not only granted his petition, but gave 
him also power and riches. 

Soon an opportunity presented itself to Solomon to give 
proof of his wisdom. Two mothers once came to him for 
his decision in a contest between them. One of them said : 
*' I and this woman slept in one cliamber. And it came 
to pass that the child of this woman died, and she arose 
at midnight, and took my child from beside me, and laid 
lier dead child in my lap." Now the other replied, saying: 
'' Nay : but the living is my child, and the dead is thy 
child." When the king heard these words, he said : 
*' Bring me a sword; divide the living child in two^ and 
give half to the one and half to the other." The right 
mother, having sympathy with her child, at once exclaimed: 
" O my lord I give her the living child, and in no wise 
slay it." From these words the king perceived that she 
was the real mother of the child, and said : " Give her the 
living child, and in no wise slay it; she is the mother 
thereof" And all Israel heard of this wise decision, and 
Solomon's fame spread in distant lands. And there came 
of all people to see him, and to hear his wisdom. His pro- 
found thoughts he exhibited in short sentences and maxims, 
a great portion of which are still preserved, and form one 
of the Biblical books. 

So)omon acquired also immense riches. He had forty 
thousand stalls of horses *for his chariots, and twelve 
thousand horsemen. The country enjoyed, during his 
reign, the blessing of peace, of which he availed himself 
for the benefit of his people. Ho entered into treaties 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 91 

With other nations, and these promoted the commerce and 
prosperity of Israel. Ah-eady in the fourth year of his 
reign, he began the erection of the magnificent temple on 
Mount Moriah^ as his father had commanded him. He 
employed thirty thousand men Avho cut the timber, seventy 
tliousand porters of burdens, and eighty thousand hewers 
of stone. All sacred utensils, the altar, the candlesticks, 
and the door-hinges, were of the purest gold ; even the 
walls were inlaid with gold. After seven years this mag- 
nificent edifice was completed. Now Solomon assembled 
the whole people for the solemn consecration of the tem- 
ple, and caused the Ark of the Covenant to be carried 
from Zion into the sanctuary with great pomp and solem- 
nities. He himself stepped before the altar, spread forth 
his hands toward heaven, and said: "Lord God of Israel! 
behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain 
Thee, how much less this house that I have builded"? Yet 
have thou respect unto the prayer of Thy servant, and to 
his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry 
and to the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee 
to-day : that Thine eyes may be open toward this house 
night and day, even toward the place of which Thou hast 
said, ' My name shall be there :' that Thou mayest hearken 
unto the prayer which Thy servant shall make toward this 
place. And hearken Thou to the supplication of Thy ser- 
vant, and of Thy people Israel, when they shall pray to- 
ward this place : and hear Thou in heaven, Thy dwelling- 
place: and when Thou hearest, forgive. What prayer 
and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all Thy 
people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of 
his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this 
house: then hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling-place, and 
forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his 
ways, whose heart Thou knowest; for Thou, even Thou 
only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men ; that 
they may fear Thee all the days that they live in the 
land which Thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover con- 
cerning a stranger^ that is not of Thy people Israel, but 
Cometh out of a far country for Thy name's sake : when 
he shall come and pray toward this house; hear Thou 
in heaven, Thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that 



92 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

the stranger calleth to Thee for; that all people of the 
earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee, as do Thy peo- 
ple Israel ; and that they may know that this house, which 
I have builded, is called by Thy name." Then Solomon 
stood up, blessed the whole congregation, and said: 
''Praised be the Lord! the Lord our God be with us, as 
he was with our fathers!" And the king, together with 
all Israel, offered sacrifices before the Lord. 

Thus the whole house of Israel consecrated the temple 
of the Lord, ''and blessed the king, and went unto their 
tents, joyful and glad of heart, for all the goodness that 
the Lord had done for David His servant, and foi' Israel 
His people." 

Solomon was the happiest of all kings of Israel; his 
power and dominion increased more an4 more. But to- 
ward the end of his reign, his heart went astray from God, 
and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. On account of 
this, God announced to him that his kingdom should not 
last. This prediction soon began to be fulfilled ; the Ara- 
maeans of Damascus established their independence, and 
revolts were attempted even among the Israelites. But 
he did not live long enough to see the result of these re- 
bellions ; he died after a reign of forty years, and the 
calamity announced to him broke upon his nation soon 
after his death. 



§ 55. The Separation of the Kingdom. 3010 A.M. 

[i Kings xii.-xiv.] 

Solomon having drained the people by heavy taxes, 
and the nation itself, led astray by the evil example of its 
king, having given itself up to increasing luxuries, became 
by degrees too poor, henceforth, to pay the usual taxes. 
When, therefore, Mehohoam, the son of Solomon, had 
been acknowledged king over Israel, the whole congrega- 
tion of the people came to him, saying: "Thy father made 
our yoke grievous ; now, therefore, make thou the griev- 
ous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he 
put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee." Rehoboam, 
desirous to consider the matter, requested them to return 
after thi'ee days for his answer. In the meanwhile he 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 93 

consulted the aged and experienced conn sellers of his 
father, and these advised him to yield to the requests of 
the people. But his younger and more violent friends 
advised him to increase the burthens of the nation, and 
thus to humiUate their presumptuousness. Now, when the 
people returned on the third day, the king said to them : 
"My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your 
yoke ; my father chastised you with whips, but I will 
chastise you with scorpions."* Embittered by this 
haughty reply, ten tribes revolted, and chose a king for 
themselves, whose name was tTerohoam. Only the tribes 
of Judah and Benjamin, and a portion of the Levites, re- 
mained faithful to Rehoboam. The Kingdom of the ten 
tribes was called the Kingdom of Israel^ and that of the 
tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the Kingdom of J^itdah. 
The kingdom of Israel was governed, in succession, by 
nineteen kings, who at first resided in Shechem, then in 
Tirzah^ and at last in Scnnaria, The kingdom of Judah 
was ruled over, in succession, by twenty kings, all of 
whom resided in Jerusalem. 

The dissolution of the kingdom produced the saddest 
results, and was one of the greatest calamities that ever 
befell the people of Israel. One kingdom waged war 
with the other; one king supplanted another; the worship 
of God was neglected; the kings and the people sank 
deeper and deeper into idolatry, vice and ignorance ; the 
prosperity of the country vanished, and foreign princes 
subjected the people under their rule. God often admon- 
ished them to mend their ways ; but His admonitions 
were of little or no avail ; and the nation thus hastened 
toward its destruction. 

* Scorpions are whips armed with pointed thorns, or intertwisted 
with iron wires, to produce severe wounds l)v their blows. 



94 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

C. The Kings of Israel. 

§56, Jeroboam. 

Jeroboam, as we have just learned, was elected king o^ 
Israel, and made Shechem tlie seat of his government. 
Already, during the reign of king Solomon, the prophet 
Ahiah had foretold him tliat he should become king, and 
his house continue to reign, if he would walk in the ways 
of the Lord. But Jeroboam soon went astray. His 
chief object was to secure his government, to build strong 
cities, and employ all possible means to maintain himself 
in opposition to Rehoboam. He introduced idolatry into 
Israel, erected two golden calves, one at Bethel, and the 
other at Dan, and caused divine adoration to be paid to 
them, fearing the people might return to the rule of Re- 
hoboam, if it continued to go to the temple of Jerusalem. 
He either performed himself the priestly funations, or se- 
lected the priests from classes of the people that were not 
of the tribe of Levi, and changed even, in a most high-handed 
manner, the days of the Festivals. The people, either 
from ignorance or the desire of comfort and repose, ma<le 
no objection to these sacrilegious inroads into their inher- 
ited religion. But God, in His mercy, sent a prophet to 
admonish the king, and, at the same time, announce to him 
that a descendant of David should destroy his idjls. But 
Jeroboam did not repent or mend his ways. All at once 
his son was taken sick, and, as the king had no confidence 
in his own idols, he sent his wife in disguise to the Jevnsh 
prophet Ahiah, to learn the final fate of his child. The 
prophet informed her that, before she should have passed the 
threshold of her house, her child would be dead ; and that 
her whole race should be blotted out,' because Jeroboam 
had not listened to God's admonitions. This announce- 
^ment was fulfilled. Jeroboam died after a reign of twenty- 
I two^years, and was succeeded by his son Nadab. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 95 

§ 57. The Kings of Israel. {Continued,) 
Nadab — Baasha — Elah — Zimri — Omri — Ahab. 

N'adah) the son of Jeroboam, was slain, together with 
his whole family, after a reign of two years, by JBaasha^ 
who then ascended the throne of Israel. Baasha continued 
the hostilities wliich Jeroboam had commenced against 
the kingdom of Judah, removed his seat of government to 
Tirzah, carried on a war against Asa, king of Judah, with 
ill luck, led a wicked life, and died after a reign of twenty- 
four years. He was succeeded by his son Elah, who 
after reigning only two years, was assassinated by Zwiri, 
one of his captains, who immediately proclaimed himselJf 
king, and slew the whole family of Elah. But Zirari 
reigned only seven days ; for an army of Israelites, that 
was engaged in the siege of Gibhethon, a city of the 
Philistines, having heard of his conspiracy, proclaimed 
their leader, Omrl, king of Israel. When Zimri heard this 
and found that he was without all hope of escape, he 
retired to his palace, set it on fire, and perished in the 
flames. 

The people were now divided into two parties ; but the 
paity of Omri maintained the ascendancy, and he was 
proclaimed king by the people also. 

He removed the seat of government to Samaria, and 
" wrought evil in the sight of the Lord, and did worse 
than all that were before him.'' He reigned twelve years, 
and was succeeded by his son Ahab, one of the most 
wicked kings that ever ruled over Israel. His reign lasted 
twenty-two years — a long period under such an impious 
ting 1 Sin and destruction, nurtured for such a long time, 
could take firm root. He w^as not content with following 
the example of Jeroboam, to renew the worship of calves 
and idols, and build altars and temples to false gods, but 
married also Jezebel, the daughter of the Sidonian prince 
Ethbaal, and practised, with the view of pleasing and 
honorhig her, the idolatry of her people, the worship of 
Baal, in the most solemn manner, even at the seat of the 
government. Idolatry now became the religion of the 
land, and the difference between Israelites and heathens 



96 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

thus vanished from the country. And since that time, 
false worship never ceased in the kingdom of Israel. The 
prophets of the Lord were slain, and their place given to 
four hundred prophets of Baal, and four hundred prophets 
of the Worship of the Groves. Such wickedness had 
thitherto not been committed in Israel. 

In the days of Ahab, there lived a prophet in G'«!ead, 
named Elijah^ with the surname of Tlslibi. He suddenly 
came forth from his solitude, stepped before Ahab, and 
said to him in the name of God: *'As the Lord God of 
Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew 
nor rain during these years, unless I command it." 

This prophecy was soon followed by its fulfillment. A 
long drought caused a fearful famine, want and misery in 
Israel ; the fields lay parched, and men and animals longed 
for refreshing waters; Elijah, however at the command of 
God, was fed by ravens, in his concealment near the Brook 
Cherith. But this brook also dried up after somi3 time, 
and God said to Elijah : '' Arise, get thee to Zarephath ; 
there a widow shall sustain thee." Elijah obeyed; and 
when he came to the gate of the city, he met the widow 
just engaged in gathering wood; he said to her: '* Fetch 
me, I pray thee, a little water, that I may drink, and a 
morsel of bread to eat." The widow replied, saying: "As 
the Lord liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of 
meal and a little oil ; and behold, I am now gathering a 
little wood, that I may prepare a repast for myself and 
my son, alas! perhaps the last we shall have on earth!" 
And Elijah said to her: ^'Fear not; the Lord shall not 
{iulfer thee to be in want — do as I have requested thee." 
Tlie good Avidow went and gave the prophet the only food 
left in her house, and God afterwards provided her with 
all necessary means for her subsistence. Her son, also, 
who was in a dying state, rose again upon the prayer of 
"Kli^h. and fully retrained his healtii. 



biblical history fok israelitisu schoola. 97 

§ 58. Elijah and Ahab. 

The famine and misery increased more and more in the 
land, so that the king himself was compelled to travel 
about to seek food and water for his horses. At last, God 
had again mercy upon His people, and said to Elijah : 
'' Go and show thyself to Ahab ; for now I will again send 
rain upon the earth." When Ahab and Elijah met, the 
latter said to the prophet: "Art thou he that troubleth 
Israel.?" EHjah replied, saying: "Not I have troubled 
Israel ; but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have 
forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast 
followed the idols of Baal. Now, therefore, send and 
gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel^ and the pro- 
phets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of 
the groves four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table." 

When Ahab had complied with this command, Elijah 
stepped before the assembly of the people, and addressed 
them thus: '^ How long halt ye between two opinions? 
if the Lord be God, follow him : but if Baal, then follow 
him." And the people answered him not a word. Then 
said Elijah unto the people: *'I, even I only, remain a 
prophet of the Lord ; but Baal's prophets are four hun- 
dred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bul- 
locks ; and let them choose one bullock for tliemselves, 
and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire 
under ; and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on 
wood, and put no fire under: and call ye on the name of 
your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and 
the God that answereth by fire, let him be God." And 
all the people answered and said: "It is well spoken." 
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal: " Choose you 
one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first ; for ye are 
many : and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire 
under." And they took the bullock which was given them, 
and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from 
morning even until noon, saying: *'0 Baal, hear us." 
But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they 
leaped upon the altar that was made. And it came to pass 
at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said : " Cry aloud : 
for he ii^ a god ; either ho is talking, or he is pursuing, or 



98 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must 
be awakened." And they cried aloud, and cut themselves 
after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood 
gushed out upon them. 

Elijah then built an altar, made a trench around it, 
arranged the wood, cut the bullock in pieces, and laid hira 
upon the wood. When the time of the evening sacrifice 
had come, the prophet prostrated himself to the earth, and 
prayed thus: ''Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of 
Israel, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, 
and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these 
things at Thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that 
this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and 
that Thou hast turned their hearts back again." This was 
but a short prayer, but it came from the depth of the pro- 
phet's heart, and God hearkened to it: lightening de* 
ecended from heaven, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice. 
And the people, seeing all this with their own eyes, fell 
upon their faces, and exclaimed with one voice : " The 
Lord alone is God! The Lord alone is God/^^ But 
Elijah said to them: *' Take the prophets of Baal !" The 
people fulfilled this command, and put them to death at 
the brook Kishon. And the heavens grew black with 
thick clouds — abundant rain poured down, and refreshed 
the soil, so that shortly afterwards there was again plenty 
of food in the land of Israel. 

This event caused the people to improve; but Ahab 
continued in his wonted wickedness; he still remained 
the blind tool of his impious wife, as may be seen from the 
following occurrence : JSFahoth, the Jezreelite, had a vine- 
yard hard by the king's palace. Ahab desired to possess 
this vineyard, but Naboth would not part with it, because 
it was an inheritance of his fathers. This refusal filled the 
king with displeasure and sorrow, that he could neither 
eat^nor drink. But his wife soon found means to gratify 
the desire of her royal consort. She hired false witnesses 
who accused Naboth of treason and blasphemy. The 
poor Naboth was found guilty, and stoned to death ; 
whereupon Ahab quietly took possession of the vineyard. 
Now Elijah stepped before him, and said: "Hast thou 
killed, and also taken possession % Behold ! in the place 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 99 

where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, there dogs shall 
liek thy blood, even thine; and dogs shall eat Jezebel by 
the wall of Jezreel." 

Shortly afterwards, Ahab. declared war to the Syrians, 
although a prophet of the Lord had announced to him 
that he should not return alive. And so it happened. A 
man drew his bow, as by chance, and his arrow hit the 
king in the heart ; wherefore he said to the driver of his 
chariot: "Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; 
for I am wounded." The driver of the king's chariot did 
as his master had commanded. Towards evening Ahab 
was dead. As the blood from his wounds had soiled his 
chariot, it was washed in the pool of Samaria, and dogs 
licked it up, as the prophet bad p^^^dicted. Such ara 
God's judgments ! 



§ 59. Ahaziah — Jehoram — Jehu — Jezebel's Death. 

Ahab was succeeded by his son Ahaziah, who led an 
impious life, like his parents. He reigned only two years, 
and died in consequence of a fall through a lattice in hig 
upper chamber. He was succeeded by his brother Jeho^ 
ram,, who did evil in the eyes of God, but carried his 
wickedness not so far as his father Ahab. One day a 
disciple of the prophets came to Bamoth and said to J'ehUj 
one of the Israelitish captains: ''I have come to anoint 
thee king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. And 
thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may 
avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the 
blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of 
Jezebel." Jehu at once marched toward Jezreel, where 
Jehoram, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, just then sojom'ned. 
When Jehoram learned from the watchman on the tower 
f that an army was approaching, he went with Ahaziah to 
meet Jehu, with a view of inducing him to peace and 
friendship. They met in the vineyard of Naboth, and 
Jehoram asked Jehu : ''Is it peace 1" The latter replied: 
''What! peace, so long as the outrages of thy mother 
Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many f' When Jeho- 
ram heard these words he attempted to fly : but Jehu 



lOD BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISKAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

drew a bow with his full strength, and shot an arrow 
through his heart Then he said to his captain BidJcar : 
*' Take him up, aad cast hira into the field of Naboth ; for | 
I remember what the Lord hath said, ' I will avenge the j 
blood of Naboth in this field.' " Thus Ahab's blood flow- 
ing forth from the veins of his son, was shed, according to 
the divine announcement, upon the same ground which 
had drunk the innocent blood of Naboth. When Aha- 
ziah saw the gloomy death of Jehoram, he attempted to 
fly, but Jehu pursued hira, and caused him also to be 
slain. 

Jehu then continued his way toward Jezreel. When 
Jezebel heard of his approach, she painted her face, orna- 
mented her head, looked out from the window of the 
palace, and said to Jehu: *'Had Zimri peace, who slew 
his master f Jehu lifted up his eyes to the window, and 
said to the chamberlains that stood by her: '' Throw her 
down!" They immediately obeyed this command, and 
her blood was sprinkled upon the wall, and her body 
trampled by the hoofs of the horses in the street. When 
Jehu, after some hours, ordered her burial, no more of her 
was found than her skull, her feet, and her hands; for 
dogs had eaten up the rest. Thus the words of the pro- 
phet were fulfilled. 



§ 60. The Prophet Elisha. [2 Kings ii.-vi.] 

One of the most faithful disciples of Elijah was Elisha, 
God himself commanded Elijah to anoint him to be pro- 
phet in his stead, which he did, when he met him as he 
was ploughing the field of his father, by throwing his 
mantle upon him. By this symbolical act he meant to 
say : ^^ Be what I am, a prophet of God, and follow me!" 
Elisha, at once understood the symbol, left his oxen, and 
said to Elijah : " Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and 
my mother, and then I will follow thee.'* This request 
being granted, Elisha did as he had asked, and thence- 
forth accompanied his master everywhere, and became a 
most zealous servant of God. When Elijah felt that his 
end was approaching, he said to Elisha: '^Ask what I 
fihall do for thee, before I be taken away fi'om thee." 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS- 101 

EHsha answered: **I pray thee, let a double portion of 
thy spirit be upon me.'* His later acts proved that God 
fulfilled this noble wish. How he delighted to do good 
and help the suffering, may be seen from the following 
narrative. 

Naaman^ the general of the Syrian king, was stricken 
with leprosy. An Israelitish maiden, who waited on Naa- 
man's wife, said to her mistress : " Would God my Lord 
were with the prophet Elisha ! for he would cure him of 
his leprosy." Naaman at once acted upon this wish, and 
went with his horses and his chariot and many presents to 
the prophet. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying : 
*'Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thou shalt be 
clean." But Naaman got angry at this speech, and said : 
"'Behold, I thought he would surely come out to me, and 
call on the name of the Lord his God, and move his hand 
over the place, and thus cure me of my disease." His 
servants endeavored to pacify him, and said: ''If the pro- 
phet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not 
have done it I How much rather, then, when he saith to 
thee, 'Wash and be clean 1'" These words produced a 
proper effect. Naaman descended from his chariot, dip- 
ped himself seven times in Jordan, and behold! he rose 
from the water entirely clean from leprosy. Full of joy, 
he at once returned to Elisha, and said: '' I^ehold, now I 
know that there is no God in all the earth like the God of 
Israel/'^ He tlien offered him precious gifts as a reward 
for his cure ; but the prophet refused to accept them, well 
satisfied with this, that he had made him a worshipper of 
his God. 

But Gehazi, the prophet's servant, did not entertain the 
same noble thoughts. When Naaman had left the house, 
he ran after him and asked of him, in the name of his mas- 
ter, one talent, and two changes of garments. Naaman 
most joyfully gave him even more than he had asked. 
When Elisha, who had not sent his servant, heard of this 
fraud, he got very angry, and severely reproved him for 
his shameful conduct. Nor did God let Gehazi go unpun- 
ished for his fraud and extortion ; the leprosy of Naaman 
came over him, so that he was all over his body as white 
as snow. 



102 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISKAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

One day, when Elisha was going towards the town of 
Betli-el, some rude boys came from the city and mocked 
him, saying: ''Go up, thou bald head! go up, thou bald 
head!" The prophet looked at them, and told them that 
it could not be well with such ill-bred and mischievous 
children. And his words were soon fultilled. No sooner 
had he concluded his speech, than two bears came forth 
from the woods, and tore forty-two of them in pieces. 

Elisha filled the office of prophet for more than fifty 
years after the death of Elijah, under the reign of the 
kings Jelioram^ Jeliu^ JTehoahaz, and Jehoash. When the 
aged prophet lay upon his death-bed, king Jehoash paid 
him a visit, wept, and exclaimed: '' O my father, my 
father, the chariot of Israel and the horses thereof!" 



§ 61. The Prophet Jonah. 

At the time of Jeroboam II ,, king of Israel, who was 
the son of Jehoash, there lived Jonah^ whom the Lord 
had appointed not only prophet for Israel, but also for the 
heathens. He sent him to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, 
which was from fifty to sixty miles long, "to cry against 
it, because their wickedness had come up before Him." 
But Jonah, instead of obeying the divine command, went 
on board a ship to go to Tarshish^ and thus to fiee from 
God. But God stirred up a fierce tempest, a mighty 
thunderstorm arose, and the ship was near being foundered. 
The sailors became greatly alarmed, and every one of 
them prayed to his God. But Jonah being unable to 
pray, because his conscience naturally troubled him on ac- 
count of his evil deed, went down into the hollow of the 
ship and fell a.^leep. Then the ship-master went to him, 
and said: ''What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call 
\»l>on thy God? Perhaps thy God will thirds upon us, that 
we perish not. 

Then the superstitious heathen mariners said to one 
another: "Come, and let us cast lots, tliat we may know 
for whose cause this evil is upou us.'* The lot fell upon 
Jonah. Yet the mariners, though they were hut heathens, 
had pity upon him, and hesitated to deliver him up to the 



BtBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 103 

stormy waves. Once more they attempted to bring their 
ship to the shore : but seeing that all their exertions were 
in vain, they cast him into the sea ; and behold ! the sea 
immediately ceased to rage. But hy God's wonderful or- 
dination, Jonah was delivered from the waves, and he 
reached the land in safety. And now he hastened to Nine- 
veh and cried aloud: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall 
be overthrown!" 

This proclamation of the prophet produced the most 
salutary effect ; all the inhabitants of the city, from the 
greatest even to the least of them, repented and turned 
Irom their evil ways; the kmg himself arose fiom his 
throne, laid oft* his royal robe, covered himself with sack- 
cloth, sat in ashes, and caused the folio v/ing proclamation 
to me made in Nineveh : " Let neither man nor beast, herd 
nor flock, taste any thing : let them not feed, nor drink 
water : But let men and beast be covered with sackcloth, 
and cry mightily unto God : yea, let them turn every one 
from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their 
hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and 
turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish notf* 
The people obeyed the exhortation of their worthy king, 
and repented: and the Lord, seeing that they had turned 
Irom their evil ways, did not send the threatened calami- 
ties, but spared the city. Jonah grew indignant at the 
compassion thus shown to Nineveh, and prayed: *'Ipray 
Thee, O Lord, was not this my saying, when I was yet in 
my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish : for 
I knew that Thou art a. gracious God, and merciful, slow to 
anger, and of great kindness, and repentest Thee of the 
evil. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech Thee, my 
hfe from me ; for it is better for me to die than to live." 
But the Lord reproved him in a most indulgent manner. 
Jonah having seated himself outside of the city, to see 
what would become of it, God caused a gourd to grow, 
which afforded him refreshing shade, and protection from 
the burning rays of the sun. The prophet exceedingly 
rejoiced at this gourd. But God sent, on the next morning, 
a worm, which destroyed the gourd ; and the sun beat so / 
severely on the head of Jonah, that he grew faint, and 
again wished to die. Then said God to him: "Doest 



104 BIBLICAL HISTOKr FOR ISRAEUTISH SCHOOLS. 

thou well to be angry for the gourd? Thou hast had pity 
on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neithei 
madest it grow : which came up in a night and perished 
in a night: And should I not spare Nineveh, that great 
city, wherein are more tlian six-score thousand persons 
that can not discern between their right hand and their 
left hand ; and also much cattle 1" 



§ 62. Job. 

Other instances also are found in the ancient world, 
which show that strong virtuous sentiments, and fear of 
God, sometimes lived in the hearts of non-Israelites. Thua 
Holy writ relates that there dwelt once in the land of JIz 
a very rich and pious man, named Job. He had seven 
r?ons and three daughters, seven thousand sheep, three 
thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred 
ghe-asses, and a very numerous household. Being a very 
pious man, with all his wealth, he enjoyed the greatest 
happiness. But God, wishing to try him, whether he 
would remain constant in adversity, visited him with 
heavy afflictions. His children, his cattle, and all else that 
he possessed, perished. Yet, he did not murmur, but ex- 
claimed : '' The Lord gave^ the Lord hath taJcen away^ 
blessed he the name of the JjO/xI!'' He himself was taken 
sick, and became so leprous, that he sat upon a dung-hill 
and took a potsherd to scrape the sores from his body. 
Still he remained pious and God-fearing. Then said his 
wife to him : "Dost thou still retain thine mtegrity f to 
which Job answered : " Thou speakest as one of the fool- 
ish women speaketh. What! shall we receive good at 
the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil also V" 
An^ he still persevered in his trust m God. 

Tliree of his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad^ and Zopha, heard 
of the affliction which had befallen him, and agreed*to visit 
and console him in his sufferings. When they raised their 
eyes afar off, and could hardly recognize their friend, they 
wept, sat down with him upon the ground seven days and 
seven nights, and did not speak to him; for they saw that 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 105 

his grief was very great. After this, Job opened his 
mouth and complained of his excessive sufferings : yet, 
the innocence and purity of his own conscience, and his 
confidence in God's justice, afforded him consolation. But 
his friends thought that his sufferino-s had been caused by 
some guilt of his, since God never inflicted woe upon man, 
unless he deserved it in consequence of his sin. Such 
speeches grieved the unhappy Job very much; his inward 
pain increased, and he cursed the day on which he was 
born. But soon the piety of his heart, and his love for 
God, awoke again, and he consoled himself with the reflec- 
tion : " I know that my God liveth, who will awaken mo 
from death unto everlasting life." 

By his patience and constancy, he regained the grace 
and favor of God. The Lord restored to him all that he 
had lost, and even redoubled his former wealth. His re- 
latives and friends visited him again, ate with him, and 
sympathized with him. 

After this, Job lived yet one hundred and forty years, 
saw his sons, his sons' sons, even to the fourth generation, 
and died, very old and full of days. 



§ 63. The Destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. — 
The Prophets. [2 Kings xvii.] 3268 A.M. 

While the only exhortation to repentance addressed by 
the prophet Jonah to the heathen inhabitants of Nineveh, 
produced the desired effect, the Israelites remained un- 
moved by a hundred similar admonitions. They heaped 
sin upon sin, misdeed upon misdeed ! All the successors 
of Ah jb were wicked, and misled the people to idolatry 
and vice. For this reason God sent several prophets to 
admonish them to repent, to announce His judgments, 
and at the same time, proclaim His mercy, if they would 
return from their evil ways. 

Hosea arose, announced the approaching destruction of 
the kingdom, and the captivity ot its inhabitants, if they 



103 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISII SCHOOLS. 

would not repent. ''Hear the word of the Lord," he ex 
claimed, "ye children of Israel! Ye swear, and steal, and 
murder, and commit violence, and heap crime upon crime. 
But the time of judgment shall come, when the Lord will , 
reject you, and disperse you among the nations," On tlie | 
other hand, Hosea promised them also the loving forgive- 
ness of the Lord, if they would repent and return to llim. 

Amos, who was a shepherd at Tekoa, and afterwards 
became a prophet, proclaimed his prophecies at Beth-el, 
where the Israelites worshipped calves. Although he had 
not b^en trained in the schools of prophets, yet he under- 
stood it well, to expose in soul-stirring speeches, even 
in the face of kings, the atrocious deeds of Israel. *' Hear, 
ye lords of Samaria," he exclaimed, " who oppress the 
poor, who crush the needy, who say to their mastei-s, 
Bring, and let us drink. Tlie Lord hath sworn by His 
holiness, that, behold! the days shall come upon you, that 
He will take you away with hooks, and your posterity 
with fish-hooks. I will send you into captivity, and I Avill 
sift the house of Israel among all nations, as the corn is' 
sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the 
earth. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, 
who say, ' The evil shall not overtake us.' I have smitten 
you with blasting and mildew; I have, caused your fig- 
trees and your olive-trees to be devoured by the palraer- 
Avorm : yet ye have not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 
I have sent among you the pesiilence; your young men 
have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your 
horses ; yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. 
I have caused destruction among you, as once in Sodom 
and Gomorrah, and ye were as* a firebrand plucked out of 
the flames, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the 
Lord: therefore will I do thus unto thee." 

The prophet J/?caA likewise describes with bold open- 
ness, the vices both of the high and the low of the house 
uf Judah as well as of the house of Israel. "Woe to 
them," he exclaims, "that devise iniquity, and work evil 
upon their beds I when the morning is light, they practise 
it because it is in the power of their hand. And they 
covet fields and take them by violence : and houses, and 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOB ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 107 

take them away ; therefore punishment is not afar off.'* 
''Hear, this, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes 
of the house of Israel, who build up Zion with blood, and 
Jerusalem with iniquity, for your sake shall Ziou be 
ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become a heap of 
ruins, and the mountain of the Temple as the high places 
of the forest." The prophet then reproved his people for 
this, that they clung more to outward worship than to the 
observance of the moral law, and assured them that they 
could easily regain the mercy of God, if they would but 
return from their evil w^ays. ''The Lord," he exclaims, 
''hath showed thee, O man, what is good: and what else 
doth the Lord require of thee, but to practise justice, to 
love charity, and to walk humbly with thy God?" 

The prophet J^oel pronounced the following proclama* 
lion: ''Hear this, Israel! the day of the Lord is at hand, 
the day of destruction, whereof ye shall tell your children 
and your children's children. That which the palmer-worm 
liath left shall be eaten by the locust — and that which the 
locusts will leave, shall be eaten by the canker-worm ; 
and that which the canker-worm will leave, shall be eaten 
by the eater-pillar. Their teeth shall be as the teeth of a 
lion. The held shall be wasted, the land shall mourn; 
the husbandmen shall wail, the winedressers shall howl . 
the beasts of the field shall groan ; the rivers shall be 
dried up, and the fire shall devour the pastures of the wild- 
erness. Therefore, if ye turn to the Lord, with all your 
heart, and with lasting and with weeping, and with mourn- 
mo^, ve shall know that God is in the midst of Israel. 

The prophet Isaiah also exposed their misdeeds, and 
admonished them to repent, saying: hear, O heavens, 
and give ear, O earth : for the Lord hath spoken, I have 
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled 
against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 
master's crib: bat Israel doth not know, my people doth 
not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with ini- 
quity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters : 
tiiey have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the 
Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away back* 



108 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

ward. Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom ; 
give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto 
me? saith the Lord : I am full of the burnt offerings of 
rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the 
blood of bullocks, or of iambs, or of he-goats. When ye 
€ome to appear before me, who hath required this at your 
hand, to tread my courts ? Iking no more vain oblations ; 
incense is an abomination unto me : the new moons and 
sabbatlis, the calling of assemblies, I can not away with ; 
it is iniquity, even tlie solenm meeting. Your new moons 
and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a 
trouble unto me ; I am weary to bear them. And when 
ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from 
you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: 
your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; 
put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, 
cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve 
the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 
Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord: 
tiioiigh your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as 
jsnow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good 
of the land ; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured 
with the sword : for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 

The prophet Nahmn said : '^ God is jealous, and a re- 
venger, the Lord is slow in anger, and great in power, 
and will not at all acquit the wicked; He hath His way 
in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and the clouds are the 
dust of His feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it 
dry, and drieth up all the rivers. The mountains quake 
at Him, and the hills melt, the earth trembleth before His 
countenance, and its inhabitants. Who can stand before 
His indignation V 

The prophet HdbaJcJcuh said : " Thus saith the Lord, I 
will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe, 
though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, 
that bitter and hasty nation, and they shall gather captives 
as the sand." 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAKUTISH SCHOOLS. 109 

ZepJianiah said : '^ Woe to the rebellious and oppressing 
city' She obeys not the voice, she trusteth not in the 
Lord — she draws not nigh to her God,. Therefore, I shall 
gather nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour 
ujDon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger. 
But I will also judge all that afflict thee, and I wull save 
the oppressed, and gather them that were driven out, and 
I will make you a name and a praise among all the nations 
of the earth." 

Such and many other similar exhortations were ad- 
dressed by the prophets to the Israelites. But all in vain; 
they would not heed the warning voice of those faithful 
servants of the Lord. At last, God's mercy and long- 
suffering, so long exercised over them, were exhausted, 
and His infallible judgment hastened toward its fulfillment. 
He chose Shalniaiieser, king of Assyria, to accomplish the 
work of judgment. Shalmaneser declared war to Soshea, 
king of Israel, because he had entered into an aUiance with 
/So, king of Egypt. After a siege of three years, the city 
of Samaria was taken and burned down, and the king and 
liis people were carried as captives to Assyria and Media, 
to settle in uncultivated regions of these countries. On 
the other hand, Shalmaneser sent inhabitants of Babylon 
and other countries of his empire, to Samaria and the 
neighboring places, and with them a Jewish priest, that ha 
might instruct these heathens in the worship of God. 
While they learned to fear and serve God, they, at the 
same time continued to practice idolatry. This new 
population of Samaria became known afterwards as the 
Sect of the Samaritans, 



D. The Kings of Judah. 

§ 64. Rehoboam — Abijah — Asa — Jehoshaphat— 

Jehoram. 

[1 Kings xiv.-xv. 2 Kings viii. 2 Chro. xx.-xxi.] 

As the greater number of the kings of Judah were 
better and more pious than those of Israel, this kingdom 
lasted one hundred and thirty-four years longer than tiiat 



110 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS, 

of tlie latter. Many of the kings of Judah also forsook 
their God, and set their people an evil example. Mehohoam 
the son of Solomon, under whose reigQ the empire was 
divided, did much evil in the eyes of the Lord. He was 
already forty-one years old when he ascended the royal ; 
throne, so that it was to be expected that the earnestness 
and discretion of manhood should guard him against many 
a rash and wicked deed. But this expectation was not ful- 
filled. He built high places, and erected statues for idols 
upon all places, and under every green tree ; besides, he 
suffered corrupted young men to practise all the abomina- 
tions of the heathens. In punishment for all these iniqui- 
ties, God sent misery upon him. The Egyptian King 
Shishak marched against Jerusalem, and took away both 
the treasures of the Temple and the royal house. Now 
the prophet Shemaiah stepped before King Rehoboam and 
addressed him, saying; ''Thus saith the Lord, 'Ye have 
forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand 
of Shishak.'" The princes and the king humbled them- 
selves, and exclaimed : "The Lord is just!" Whereupon 
God said: "They have humbled themselves, therefore I 
will not destroy them. Nevertheless, they shall remain 
subject to Shishak, that they may learn the difference be- 
tween my service and the' service of the kings of strange 
countries.'' However merciful this lesson, taught them by 
God himself, was, it did not produce the desired effect. 
Rehoboam continued the war with Jeroboam, king of 
Israel, and died after a reign of seventeen years, leaving 
Lis son Abijam as his successor. 

Abijam followed the evil example of his father, and 
made war against the kingdom of Israel, but died after 
the short reiga of but three years. 

His son and successor Asa was a pious, God-fearing 
prince ; he destroyed all the temples of the idols, and re- 
moved their images and statues. His continual wars 
with Baasha, King of Israel, compelled him to enter into 
an alliance with the Syrian king, Benhadad, in conse- 
quence of which the hostilities between the two kings were 
ended. He died after a reigu of forty-one years, and was 
succeeded bv his son. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. Ill 

Jehoshaphat^ a pious man and excellent prince. He 
'provided the strong places of the land with garrisons, ap- 
pointed able officers, and endeavored to gain the respect 
of the neighboring nations for his own country. But his 
special care was devoted to the diffusion of the true know- 
ledge of God He destroyed the temples and groves of 
the idols, and appointed Levites and priests to travel 
throughout the country with copies of the law, that they 
might teach the people. ''Thus shall ye do," he said to 
them, ''in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a per- 
fect heart ; what cause soever shall come to you of your 
brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and 
Wood, in their doubts concerning laws and commandments, 
statutes and judgments, ye shall warn them that they tres- 
pass not against the Lord, and the wrath of the Lord come 
not upon you and upon your brethren." And to the judges 
he said: " Take heed what you do ; for ye judge not for 
man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. 
Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, and 
reflect well, that there is no iniquity with the Lord our 
God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribery.'' 

When shortly afterwards, the Moabites and Ammonites 
waged war against Judah, Jehoshaphat assembled the peo- 
ple in the Temple of God, and offered up the following 
prayer : " O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God 
in heaven? and rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of 
the heathen % and in Thine hand is there not power and 
might, so that none is able to withstand Thee'? . Art not 
Thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this 
land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of 
Abraham Thy friend forever? And now, behold, the 
children of Amnion and Moab and mount Seir, whom 
Thou wouldst not let Israel invade, when they came out 
of the Land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and 
destroyed them not; behold, I say, how they reward us, 
to come to cast us out of Thy possession, which Thou hast 
given us to inherit. O our God, wilt Thou not judge them ? 
for we have no might against this great company that 
cometh against us ; neither know we what to do : but our 
eyes are upon Thee." When he had concluded this prayer, 



112 BIBLICAL JIISTORT FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

a God-inspire(3 man rose m the assembly and said: 
"Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem 
, and thou king Jehoshaphat; Thus saith the Lord unto 
' you, ' Be not atVaid nor dismayed by reason of this great 
multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. To- 
morrow^ go ye down against them ; ye shall not need to 
fight! Be ye firm, stand ye still, and see the salvation of 
the Lord with you. The Eternal will be with you!"' 
And the Lord was indeed vvith them. The enemies were 
suddenly seized with fury, fought against, and destroyed 
each other, so that the Israelites made such a vast spoil of 
precious jewels and vessels, that they were unable to carry 
them all away, although they gathered them during three 
days. The people then returned with psalteries and trum- 
pets to Jerusalem, and oifered their thanks to God in the 
Temple. After this delivery, the land enjoyed peace for 
twenty-five years. Jehoshaphat reigned twenty-five years. 

J'ehoram^ who succeeded his father, was unlike him. 
His wife, Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab, misled him to 
many evil deeds. He murdered his brothers and many 
princes of his kingdom. But the punishment of God soon 
came upon him. The Edomites revolted, and the Philist- 
ines and Arabians invaded his country, plundered his 
palace, and carried away his wives and children. He was 
soon visited by a loathsome disease, with which he died. 



§ 65. The Kings op Judah. (Gontinued.) Ahaziah — 

JeHOASH AmaZIAH UZZIAH JOTHAM AhAZ HeZE- 

KiAH. [2 Kings, xi.-xii. xviii.-xx.] 

' Jehoram was succeeded by Ahaziah^ who reigned only 
one year, when he was slain, together with Jehoram, king 
of Israel. After Ahaziah's death, Athaliah, his mother, 
usurped the royal throne, and slew all the children of the 
king, with the exception of JTehoash, whom tTehosheba^ his 
father's sistei% concealed for six years in the Temple, and 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 113 

thus saved him from the persecutions of Athaliah. When 
Jehoash was seven years old. Jehoida, the high priest, 
stirred up a rebellion against Athaliah, which resulted in 
her death, and brought Jehoasli iipon the royal throne. 
^ As long as Jehoiada lived and assisted the young king 
> with his counsel, both the people and their ruler fared 
well, and served their God. The temples of Baal and the 
idolatrous altars Avere torn down, and the worship of God 
re-instated according to its prescribed order and arrange- 
ment. After the death of Jehoia(iah, Jehoash forsook God 
and committed great crimes. But his wickedness was 
soon punished ; he was defeated in a war with the Syrians, 
and had to purchase a dishonorable peace at the price of 
all his treasures. Soon afterwards, he was murdered in 
his bed by his own servants. 

Jehoash was succeeded by his son AmaziaJi, who caused 
the murderers of his father to be punished, and fought 
victoriously against the Edomites. In his war against 
Jehoash, king of Israel, he was defeated, whereupon Jeru- 
salem was taken and plundered, and all the treasures car- 
ried away to Samaria. After a reign of twenty-nine 
years, a conspiracy was formed against him, which com- 
pelled him to flee from Jerusalem. He was overtaken at 
Xiachish^ and murdered. 

His son and successor, Uzziah, was a pious prince. He 
restored the worship of the true God, and devoted his care 
and attention to the improvement of the affairs of his 
country, and succeeded in defeating the Phihstines, the 
Arabians and other neighboring tribes. But his power 
and prosperity led him astray — he usurped the office of 
priest, for which impious act he was punisiied with leprosy, 
which rendered him unable to attend to the duties of his 
ipyal dignity, so that ho was compelled to associate his 
son Jotiiam with him in the government. He died after 
a reign of fifty-two years, and left^his son 

J'otham on the royal throne. This king proved a wise, 
pious, God-fearing, and, therefore, prosperous prince. He 
defeated the Ammonites, and forced them to pay him a 



114 BIDLICAL HISTORY FOR ISIIAELITISU SCHOOLS. 

large tribute. He reigned sixteen years, and was succeeded 
by his son 

Ahaz, who vied with the kings of Israel in atrocities 
and idolatrous excesses, and went even so far as to erect, 
in the valley of Hinnom^ a statue to the Phenician god, 
Moloch, to which infants were offered as sacrifices. Under 
his reign, the country was invaded by Hezia^ King ot 
Syria, and Pekali, King of Israel. He called Tlglathpileser^ 
King of Assyria, to his aid, and was thus made tributary 
to him. Happily for his country, he died after a reign of 
but sixteen years. 

Under his son and successor, HezeJdah, Judah again 
enjoyed better times of peace and tranquillity. Hezekiah 
was found just in the eyes of God ; no Jewish king, ever 
since the time of David, was so filled with God-fearing 
piety as he. "He removed the high-places, and brake the 
statues of the idols, and cut down the groves, and brake in 
pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made, for unto 
those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it." 
Immediately after his accession to the royal throne, he 
re-opened the Temple of the Lord, had it cleansed, and 
ordered the celebration of the Passover Feast, to which 
he invited the whole people, and which was solemnized 
with Solomonian magnificence and splendor. 

In the sixth year of his reign, Shalmaneser^ king of 
Assyria, destroyed the kingdom of Israel, whereupon 
Sennacherib, his son and successor, conquered all the forti- 
fied cities of Judah, and then sent his general, Rahshakeh^ 
to attack also Jerusalem. Hezekiah sent word to Sen- 
nacherib, saying : " March away from my land and I will 
pay all the tribute that thou puttest on me." Sennacherib 
made great demands, so that Hezekiah was compelled to 
deliver up to him all the treasure of the Temple and his 
own house to satisfy him. But notwithstanding all this, 
Sennacherib soon sent an enormous army against Jerusa- 
lem, and demanded the complete subjection of Hezekiah. 
Rabshakeh. Sennacherib's general, sent word to the Jews, 
saying, *' 1 iis saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive 
you : for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISII SCHOOLS 115 

hand : neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, 
saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall 
not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 
Hearken not to Hezekiah ; for thus saith the king of 
Assyria, Make an agreement with me, by a present, and' 
come out to me, and then ©at ye every man of his own 
vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one 
his waters of his cistern : until I come and take you away 
to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a 
land of bread and vinevards, a land of oil-olive and ot 
hone}'', that ye may live and not die." The people made 
no answer to this speech, but kept silence ; for thus their 
king had commanded them. Thereupon Hezekiah himself 
received a letter from Sennacherib, in which the following 
language was used: '^Let not thy God in whom thou 
trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be de- 
livered into the hands of the king of Assyria. '' Behold, 
thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to 
all lands by destroying them utterly : and shalt thou be 
delivered'? Have the gods of the nations delivered them 
which my fathers have destroyed f' Such was the 
threatening contents of the letter; the fear and alarm 
which it caused were great; no means seemed available 
to ward off the danger. But what should be done, when- 
ever human help is no longer strong enough to save us? 
Hezekiah went into the Temple of his God, clothed in gar- 
ments of penance and mourning, and prayed as follows; 
" O Lord God of Israel, Thou art the God, even Thoa 
alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made 
heaven and earth Lord, bow down Thine ear, and hear: 
open, Lord, Thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of 
Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living 
God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed, 
the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into 
the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men's 
hands, wood and stone : therefore they have destroyed 
them. Now, therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech Thee, 
save Thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the 
earth may know that Thou art the Lor- God, even Thou 
only." The king requested also the pi ophet Isaiah to 
intercede with his prayer, and received the following 



116 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

consoling reply : " Be not afraid or dismayed ! The king of 
Assyria shall do no harm unto thee^ by the way that he 
came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into 
this city, saith the Eternal.'' Even during the same night 
a pestilence broke out in the camp of the Assyrians, so 
that, in the morning, the earth was covered with multitudes 
of dead bodies. And Sennacherib, who knelt in prayer 
before his idol god in the Temple of Nineveh, was slain 
by his own two sons. Thus God humbles the haughty. 

Soon after the destruction of the Assyrian army, Heze- 
kiah fell sick, when Isaiah came to him and said : " Set 
thine house in order ; for thou shalt die 1" No sooner had 
the king heard this announcement, than he wept and 
prayed to God that he might prolong his life. Ilis tears 
and prayer were accepted by God. Before Isaiah had left 
the city, God ordered him to announce to the king, that 
fifteen years should be added to the days of his life. 
Isaiah put a lump of figs upon the boil Avith which Heze- 
kiah suffered, and thus cured him in the course of three 
days. 

The victory over the Assyrian army produced this effect, 
that the small kingdom of Judali gained fame and respect 
among the neighboring nations. The king of Babylon 
sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, to congratulate him upon 
his recovery. On this occasion, the latter forgot himself, 
and showed, misled by self-pleasing pride, his vast treasures 
to the ambassadors. This self-exaltation was followed by 
the announcement of divine punishment : that all these 
treasures, together with the king's children, should be 
carried to Babylon. Hezekiah bowed with humility to 
the will of God, and received the consoling assurance, 
that this calamity should not occur during his lifetime. 
He -died lamented by his people, after a reign of twenty- 
nine years. 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELiTISH SCHOOLS. 117 

66. The Kings of Judah. (Continued.) Manasseh — 
Amon — JosiAH — Jehoahaz — Jehoiakim — Jehoiachin 
— Zedektah. [2 Kings xxi.-xxv. 2 Chr. xxxiii.-xxxvi:] 
8377 A.M. 

The Destruction of the Kingdom of Judah. 

Hezekiali was succeeded by his son Irfanasseh, the most 
wicked of all the kinors of Judah. He built idolatrous 
altars even in the Temple of Jerusalem, kept fortune- 
tellers and soothsayers, and sacrificed his own son to 
Moloch. Idolatry having become worse in Judah than 
among the heathens, God sent prophets to the king, say- 
ing: "Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem 
and Judah that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears 
shall tingle. I will deliver them into the hand of their 
enemies, and bring heavy distress upon them." But the 
people would not heed the words of the jjrophets, and 
God caused the Assyrian king, Esarhaddon, to invade the 
country, and carry Manasseh in fetters to Babylon. Now 
the latter repented; wherefore the All- merciful delivered 
him from his captivity, and permitted him to return to 
Jerusalem, and resume the royal power. From this time 
to his death, Manasseh was pious and God-fearing. He 
removed the idols from the Temple, and cast them out of 
the city, and urgently admonished his people to worship 
the living God. He died after a reign of fifty-five years, 
and was succeeded by his son 

Amo7i, who reigned but two years. He led a wicked life, 
and was assassinated in his own house. The people avenged 
his murder by slaying the rebels, and proclaimed his son 

J^osiah, a child of only eight years, king of Judah. 
Obeying the good counsel of his guardian, the priest JUl- 
kiah, Josiah reformed the worship of the Temple. On 
this occasion, the Book of the Law, which had been given 
by Moses, but was forgotten during the existence of the 
idolatrous worship, was found and sent to the king. With 
astoniishnient and horror he discovered how often he had 
violated the will of God, and what a sad future awaited 
him, if he would not walk in His ways. Filled with fear 
and grief, he rent his clothes, and consulted the prophetess 



118 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAKLITLSH BCHOOLS. 

Hxddah^ concerning his fate. Iluldah sent him word, say- 
ing: ''Thus saith the Lord, 'Because thy heart hath been 
softened by the words of the Law, and thou didst humble 
thyself before God, thou shalt be gathered to thy fathers 
in peace, and thine eyes shall not see the evil which I will 
bring upon this land.' " Josiah now made all possible 
exertions to restore the worship of the true God. He 
made the whole people promise, that they would hence- 
forth follow the law of the Lord, and then celebrated, in 
Jerusnlem, the feast of Passover, which had not been 
solemnized with such splendor since the days of the 
Judges. After a reign of thirty-one years, he died from 
a wound which he had received in a war a^^ainst the 
Egyptian king Necho. 

He was successively followed by his sons JTehoahaz^ 
tTehoialdm, and then by tTehoiacJiin^ the son of the latter, 
all of whom re-introduced idolatry, in consequence of 
which, vice rapidly increased in Judah and accelerated the 
destruction of the nation. God delivered the people into 
the hand of Nebuchadnezzar^ king of Babylon, who carried 
Jehoiachin, together with ten thousand Jews, the ti'easures 
of the Temple, and its golden and silver vessels, to Ba- 
bylon. In the place of the deposed king, Nebuchadnezzar 
appointed ZedeJciah^ a son of Josiah, to fill the royal throne. 
The latter soon rebelled, whereupon Nebuchadnezzar 
marched against him, and laid siege to the city* with his 
whole army. 

This siege lasted two years. Famine and misery made 
horrible havoc in the city; its inhabitants fell in the streets 
dying with destitution and hunger; mothers ate their own 
children. At last, on the ninth day of the fourth month, 
the enemy made an attack upon the city and took it. Zede- 
kiah took to flight, but was taken prisoner at Jericho, by 
the generals of Nebuchadnezzar, who carried him, together 
;^ witlihis whole family, before the king. The latter caused 
his children to be slain before his face, his eyes to be put 
out, and then sent him in fetters to Babylon, where he 
died in a prison. The magnificent Temple, the royal palace, 



* This was done on the tenth day of the month of Tebet* 



BIBLICAL HISTORY TOR ISPcAELITISII SCII00L3. 119 

nay, the whole city was burned down, 'and the walls razed 
to its very foundation.* 

But a limited number of the country people were per- 
mitted to remain in Canaan, and had Gedaliah^ the son of 
Ahikan^ appointed over them as governor. Gedaliah 
ruled with great mildness, and said to his people: ''Fear 
not to be the servants of the Chaldees ; dwell in the land, 
and faithfully serve the king of Babylon ; and it shall be 
well with you." Many of those who had fled, began to 
flock to Jerusalem, when Ishmael, of the royal family, 
assisted by ten other men, assassinated the governor. 
Then the remnant of the people, dreading the resentment 
of the Babylonians, fled to Egyptj. 



§ G7. The Prophets jERE^nAn and Ezekiel. 

At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, lived the 
prophets tTeremiah and Ezekiel, 

Jeremiah was the son of a priest who lived at Anathoth, 
God called him to the prophetic work in the thirteenth 
year of the reign of Josiah. Like Moses in ancient time, 
Jeremiah unwillingly followed the divine call, deeming 
himself too young and incapable to fulfill such an import- 
ant mission. But God removed his scruples by the assur- 
ance, that He would be with him, and communicate to 
him that which he should proclaim. Encouraged by this 
assurance, he stepped before a most obstinate and corrupt 
people, with the bold courage, with the greatest intrepid- 
ity of a glorious hero, to stmggle for God and His holy 
law. He inveighed, without reserve, agaijist the vices of 
the high and the humble, and admonished them to mend 
their ways. " Thou shall perish," he said to the apostate 
king Jehoiakim, ''and none shall lament for thee." He 
prophesied also the destruction of the people, if they 
would not return to God. They got angry against him 
for such speeches, and hated him. Once Jeremiah preached 
again in the court of the Temple against the general cor- 
ruption of the city, and prophesied woe and misery, and 

* On the seventh day of Ab. 

\ This event took place in the month of TishrL 



120 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOU ISRAELITI3H SCHOOLS. 

the complete destruction of the city and Temple, unless 
they would speedily repent. Tiien the whole assembly, 
the priests and false prophets, exclaimed : " This man must 
die!" — seized the prophet of the Lord, and carried him 
before the court of the princes. Jeremiah addressed them, 
saying: ''J3ehold, I am in your hand: do with me as it 
f?eemeth good and right in your eyes. Only forget not, 
that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent 
blood upon yourselves. The Lord hath sent me unto you 
to speak all these words in your ears. Therefore, now 
mend your ways and your doings, and God will avert the 
evil that he hath pronounced against you." Then the princes 
and many of the people exclaimed : " This man deserveth 
not that he should die." But ZTrijah^ another prophet, 
who prophesied like Jeremiah, was indeed put to death, 
upon the order of king Jeiioiakim, and his body thrown 
into the graves of the common people. 

Jeremiah went to his native place but even there he 
was persecuted on account of his open speeches. He was 
compelled to leave his paternal home and inheritance, and 
seek his safety in Hight. When he had again arrived at 
Jerusalem, he preached in the streets and market-places, 
and exhorted the people to repentance. Then a priest 
smote him in the face ; the people laughed at him ; he 
was thrown into a dungeon, where he began to reflect 
whether, the people being so stitf-necked, it were not bet- 
ter to be silent than to speak. **But," exclaims the in- 
spired prophet, '' a burning desire was shut up in my bones, 
and I was weary wdth forbearing, and I could not keep 
silent." Thus he continued to fulfill his important mission. 

He wrote also a letter to the Israelites in Babylon, who 
had been carried thither after the first capture of Jerusa- 
lem, containing the following admonition : " Thus saith 
the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are car- 
ried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried 
away from Jerusalem unto Babylon : build ye houses, and 
dwell in them ; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of 
them ; and seek the peace of the city whithei I have caused 
you to be can*ied away captives, and pray unto the Lord 
for it : for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For 
thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel ; Let not 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOIl ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 121 

your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of 
you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which 
ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto 
you in my name : I have not sent them, saith the Lord. 
For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be ac- 
complished at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform ray 
good word toward you, in causing you to return to this 
place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, 
saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give 
you an expected end : and I will turn away your captivity, 
and 1 will gather you from all the nations, and from all 
the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord ; and 
I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you 
to be carried away captive." And when king Zedekiah 
w^ent to Babylon to do homage to the Babylonian ruler, 
Jeremiah handed SeraiaJi^ one of the princes who accom- 
panied Zedekiah, a book containing exhortations and pro- 
phecies for the Babylonian Jews. Seraiah secretly read 
it to them, then bound it to a stone, and cast it into the 
river Euphrates ; he did so, no doubt, that it should not 
excite any suspicion among the Babylonians. 

But Jeremiah himself remained in Caanan, although he 
knew that the land would soon be visited by heavy calam- 
ities. He would not desert his people under any circum- 
stances, but was resolved to stand by them to the last 
hour, and use all means to induce them to repentance. 
The less his admonitions were heeded, the more power- 
fully would he inveigh against the sins of his jjeople. 
Once he entered the court of the royal palace with a wooden 
yoke on his neck, when another prrphet approached him 
and broke the yoke. But Jeremiah said: ''The yoke of 
the people si all be turned into an iron yoke." But when 
he was about to leave Jerusalem, throu<vb the gate of Ben- 
jamin, a captain of the guard, supposing that he intended 
to join the enemy, took him and put him in prison in the 
castle of Zion. Here he bought from one of his relatives 
a piece of land situated at Anathoth— just at the time when 
the Chaldees besieged the city, and there was no prospect 
of their defeat by the Jadeans. By this act he meant to 
indicate to his brethren, that, however great their distress 
was, and how certain their destruction, they should again. 

11 



122 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

possess the land of their fathers. King Zedekiah alleviateci 
the burthen of his imprisonment; but when he continued 
f to advise subjection to the Chaldees, the captains of the 
Israelites grew indignant, and cast him into a pit filled 
with mire^ in which he would certainly have perished, had 
not the king, upon hearing thereof, ordered his servant to 
take him up. But he was again put into prison, where he 
remained until Jerusalem was taken. 

It might be supposed that the final capture of the city 
filled the prophet with delight, because he was now de- 
livered from all persecution ; but such a feeling did not 
enter his bosom. He wept tears of bitter grief over the 
great calamity of his people, and poured forth the deep 
anguish of his soul in afiTecting elegies, which constitute a 
portion of the Bible, known as the " JLmneiitations of 
Jeremiahs 

King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to Jeremiah, saying: 
*' Behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were 
upon thine hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with 
me into Babylon, come ; and I will look well unto thee; 
but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, 
forbear; behold, all the land is before thee; whither it 
eeemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go ;" 
But Jeremiah preferred to remain with his unhappy breth- 
ren, to and alleviate their misery. He supported Gedaliah, 
the governor of Judah, and when, after the murder of the 
latter, the Israelites went to Egypt, they forced him to 
accompany them. But even here he found no rest; for 
the Jews again committed idolatry, and how^ever urgently 
he exhorted and rebuked them, he could not succeed. Nay, 
they distinctly declared to him, that they would not o])ey 
the word of God. And thus they hastened toward their 
perdition. Of Jeremiah's further history nothing is known. 
Contemporaneously with Jeremiah lived the prophets 
Zephaniah and JEzekiel. Ez'ekiel was carried to Babylon, 
by Nebuchadnezzar, with other Jewish captives under 
king Jehoiachin. While living near the Babylonian river 
Chehar^ God appointed him a prophet unto his brethren. 
His mission was, like that of Jeremiah, to admonish the 
Judeans to repentance, and to proclaim the approaching 
destruction of the kingdom. But he, too, was opposed by 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOB ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 123 

false prophets, who induced the people not to give ear to 
the exhortations of Ezekiol. Bat the Israelites learned too 
soon the truth of his predictions. They heard of the de- 
struction of the empire, began to respect the words of the 
prophets of God, and to place implicit confidence in their 
announcements of the speedy return to their native country. 



E. The History of the Israelites during, and 
after the Babylonian Captivity. 

§ 68. Daniel — IIananiah — ^Mishael — ^and Azariah. — 

The Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried to Baby- 
lon, were not kept like prisoners, but were free, and could 
even acquire fields ; only tlieir return to their country was 
interdicted. But what they were mostly grieved at, was 
this, that they could no longer worship their God as they 
had done at Jerusalem • for in Babylon they had no temple, 
no priests, no teachers. Their calamities, however, con- 
duced to their improvement : they began to reflect, and 
now, amid heathen nations, they showed not the least in- 
clination to idolatry. Many were even ready to sufier 
death rather than violate the holy law of God. Among 
these were Daniel^ Hananiah^ Mishael^ and Azariah. 
The king had ordered that these youths, who were of royal 
descent, should be instructed in arts and sciences, and re- 
ceive their provisions from his own table. But they re- 
fused to partake of the costly viands, (because they deemed 
it unlawful to eat of the viands of idolaters,) and asked 
only for pulse and water. Nevertheless, they appeared 
healthier and more cheerful than others who had pai'taken 
of the royal viands ; for their moderation in food and drink, 
f together with the joyful emotions of a good conscience, 
preserved their health. But also in knowledge and wisdom 
they surpassed other youths, so that the king soon took 
them into his own service, and raised them to the highest 
dignities. 

But the time of trial also came for them. King Nebu- 
chadnezzar had a large golden image, an idol of Baal 
erected, and decreed that all persons should worship it, 



121 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISKAELITISH SCHOOLS- 

and that every one who would not obey his order, should 
be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. All fell down and 
adored the idol; but the three last named youths refused 
to do so ; wherefore the king commanded that they should 
.Buffer the penalty pronounced for such disobedience. Bat 
God delivered them in a wonderful way, and Nebuchad- 
nezzar exclaimed, saying: '^ Blessed be the God of Han- 
aniah, Mishael, and Azariah, who hath delivered His serv- 
ants that trusted in Him, and yielded their bodies, that 
they might not serve nor worship any god, except their 
own God ! Therefore, this is my decree : Whoever speaketh 
any thing amiss against this God, shall be cut in pieces, 
and his house shall be laid waste, because there is no other 
God that can deliver like unto this God." 

Daniel also gave proofs of his impregnable attachment 
to God. He was honored and loved, not only by Nebu- 
chadnezz-ar, but also by Darius, one of his successors : a 
circamstance which caused the envy of many who en- 
deavored to bring him into disgrace at the royal court. 
Unable to discover any thing wrong in his conduct — for 
his loyalty was unexceptionable — they procured from the 
king an edict, that no one should offer up prayers to God 
for the space of thirty days ; and that every violator of this 
decree should be thrown into a den of hungry lions. Daniel 
did not heed this decree, but continued to pray to his God, 
and thus the king was compelled, as he could not evade 
his own decree, to have his favorite thrown into the lion's 
den. But All-merciful God so ordained it, that the lions 
would not do him the least injury. The king, deeply 
grieved on account of Daniel, could neither eat nor sleep, 
and hastened very early in the morning to the lion's den, 
to see what had become of him. When he found him alive, 
he commanded that he should be taken from the den, and 
th^se thrown into it, who had accused his faithful favorite. 
Before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions 
devoured them all. The king was greatly astonished, and 
decreed, that all the inhabitants of his land should adoie 
the God of Daniel, because he was the only true God. 
Thenceforth Daniel remained the favorite of the king, and 
lived even to the first year of the reign of JK^oresh, (Cyrus.) 
He gained the favor of several kings of Babylon, especially 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 125 ^ 

by his skillful interpretations of mysterious dreams. Pie 
had himself spiritual visions, which are related in that book 
of Holy Writ, which bears his own name. However, he 
is not recognized as a prophet. 



§ 69. The Return of the Jews from the Babylonian 
Captivity. [Ezra i-vi.] 3446 A.M. 

Seventy years had the Jews passed in captivity, when 
the Persian king Cyrus^ who had conquered Babylon, 
granted them permission to return to their own country, 
and rebuild their national temple. Many of the captives, 
however, did not avail themselves of this permission, but 
remained in Babylon, where they had acquired lands, and 
adopted the customs of the country. About fifty thousand 
of the people, among them two hundred singers, returned 
to Jerusalem, led by Zeruhbahel, a descendant of the k'.ngs 
of Judah, and the priest J'eshua^ who became afterwards 
high-priest. Those that remained presented their return- 
ing brethren with rich gifts, and king Cyrus himsell' de- 
livered to them five thousand four hundred sacred vessels 
which had been taken from the temple. Inspiring them- 
selves by songs of joy, they accomplished their journey, 
and, after having taken possession of cities and villages, 
they assembled again on the fir«t day of the seventh month, 
at Jerusalem, erected an altar upon the ruins of the Tera2)le 
and offered up sacrifices. When, the year following, the 
foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the Temple, the 
priests were present, attired with their official garments, 
and with trumpets in their hands, and the Levites with 
cymbals, to praise God, together with the people: "And 
they sang together in choirs, praising and giving thanks 
unto the Lord ; because he is good, for His mercy en- 
dureth forever toward Israel. And all the peoj^le shouted 
with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because 
the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But 
many of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers, 
who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when 
•the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, 
wept with a loud voice ; and many shouted aloud for joy : 



12G BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR^ ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS*. 

SO that the people could not discern the noise of the shout 
of joy from the npise of the weeping of the people : for the 
people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard 
afar off." 

Now, when the Samaritans, the enemios of Judah and 
Benjamin, heard that the Jews builded a temple unto the 
Eternal, they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the 
fathers, and said unto them: "Let us build with you; 
for we seek your God, as ye do." But Zerubbabel, and 
Jeshua, and the chief of the rest of the fathers, replied : 
" Ye have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our 
God ; we will alone build it, as king Cyrus had commanded 
us." On account of this refusal, the Samaritans endeavored 
to prevent and disturb the re-erection of the Temple. They 
brought calumnies against the Jews before the king, and 
succeeded so far, by bribing the royal officers in Persia, 
that the work of building was interrupted till the death of 
Cyrus, and distinctly prohibited by his successor Artach- 
sJiashta. 



§ 70. Haggai and Zechariah. [Book of Haggai i. and 
ii. Zechariah iv. viii. ix. Ezra v. vi.] 

Thus the holy work remained interrupted for fifteen 
years. The people had lost the necessary courage and 
zeal for its continuation; yet they inhabited beautiful 
houses; their continual attention to worldly affiirs grad- 
ually caused their zeal for the service of God to abate, so 
that the work perhaps would never have been resumed, if 
God had not admonished them through famine, want of 
the means of subsistence, and other chastisements, but 
above all, through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, 

It was in the second year of the reign of king Darius, 
when the word of the Lord came unto Zerubbabel, governor 
of Judah, through the medium of Haggai, the prophet, 
saying: "This people say. The time is not come, the time 
that the Lord's house should be built. Is it time for you, 
O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie 
waste ? Now, thert^fore, thus saith the Lord of hosts : Con- 
sider yoiu- ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little ; 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 127 

ye eat, but ye have not enough ; ye drink, but ye are not 
filled with di'lnk : ye clothe you, but there is none warm ; 
and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a 
bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts : Consider 
your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and 
build the house ; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will 
be glorified, saith the Lord." 

Now Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, the high priest, and all 
the people obeyed the voice of the Eternal, their God. 
All came and laid hand to the work in the house of the 
Lord of hosts, their God. 

The prophet Zechariah also, upon the command of God, 
encouraged Zerubbabel and the people, to continue th© 
holy work. 

At the same time, Tatnai^ the Persian governor, came 
to Jerusalem with his companions, and asked the Jews, 
seeing them build their temple : '^ Who has permitted you 
to build this housed They answered- "King Cyrus." 
Hereupon the governor wrote to king Darius, requesting 
to inquire into the matter, whether such permission had 
been given the Jews. Inquiry was made, and a roll, which 
contained the decree of king Cyrus, concerning the re- 
building of the Temple, having been found, the governors 
of the king were instructed not only not to hinder the 
work of the Jews, but even to assist them, and defi-ay all 
necessary expenses from the royal treasury ; the sacrifices 
also should be furnished to them, that they could pray to 
their God for the life of the king and of his sons. 

Thus the work was finished after four years. The con- 
secration of the Temple was then celebrated with great 
joy and exultation ; ''for God had made them joyful, and 
turned the heart of the king unto them." 



§ 71. Esther. 

The history of the Jews who remained in Persia, con- 
tains an event which teaches us anew, how God's provi- 
dence watches over the destinies of man. 

After the death of king Cyrus, Ahasuerus ascended the 
royal throne. Under his reign, there lived at Shiishan, the 



128 BIBLICAL HISTOKY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

capital of the kingdom, a Jew, whose name was Mordecai^ 
and who had adopted and educated Esther^ the daughter 
of his uncle, because she had neither father nor mother. 
Esther was pious and beautiful, and pleased the king so 
much, that he chose her for his wife. But she told no one 
that she was a Jewess ; for thus had Mordecai charged 
her. Mordecai went every morning to the gate of the 
royal palace to inquire after her welfare. Once he overheard 
two chamberlains, as they conspired to slay the king. 
Faithful to his king, he informed him, through Esther, of 
the conspiracy. The matter was investigated, and the in- 
formation being found correct, the two chamberlains were 
hanged, and the name of Mordecai recorded, together with 
the narrative of the event, in the chronicles of the empire. 

At that time, a certain Hainan was the king's favorite. 
Now, this Haman was greatly displeased with Mordecai, 
because he would not bend his knee before him. " This 
homage," thought Mordecai, " I can pay only to my God." 
For this reason, Haman resolved to take revenge, but not 
upon Mordecai alone, but upon all his brethren, and to 
carry out his design, he advised the king to destroy the 
Jews; ''for," said he, '' this people is scattered, yet sepa- 
rated among the nations in all the provinces of thy king- 
dom ; and their laws are different from those of every 
people, while they do not execute the laws of the king ; 
and it is no profit for the king to tolerate them. If it be 
pleasing to the king, let a decree be written to destroy 
them, and ten thousand talents of silver will I weigh out 
into the king's treasuries. The king yielded, and a decree 
was at once sent to all the provinces of the empire, " to 
destroy, to kill, and to exterminate all the Jews, from 
young to old, little ones, men and women, on one day, the 
thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar^ and to plunder 
their property as spoil." 

When Mordecai heard this, he rent his clothes, wept 
and lamented, and informed Esther of the designs of Ha- 
inan, and admonished her, at the same time, to addi-ess 
the king and implore his grace for her people. But alas! 
she, like all the king's subjects, could not approach liim 
uncalled, at the penalty of death. Yet, her love for her 
people was so strong, that she risked her life. For three 



B.BLIGAL HIS rOKY FOU ISRAEUTISH SCHOOI^. 129 

days she fasted and prayed, and with her all her brethren ; 
and then she appeared before the kini^. As soon as he 
saw her, he rose, extended his hand to her, and asked her 
what she desh*ed. She answered: *'If it please the king, 
let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet 
that I have prepared for him.'' This request, the only one 
which Esther uttered, was granted. At the table, the 
king was in such good humor that he permitted the queeti 
to ask some favor. And she requested the king and Haman 
" to come to another banquet which she would prepare 
for to-morrow." Full of joy and pleasure, Haman left 
the royal palace. But when he again saw Mordecai at the 
king's gate, " who did not rise up nor move out of his 
way," he said to his wife, after telling her of the honor 
and glory lavished upon him by the queen: ^' Yet, all this 
profiteth me nothing, as long as I see that Jew Mordecai 
sitting in the king's gate. He then resolved to erect 
a gallows, fifty cubits high, to hang Mordecai thereon in 
the morning. 

In that same night it so happened, that the king could 
not sleep, and he ordered, with a view of w^hiling away 
the time, that the books of the memorable events of the 
chronicles should be brought before him, and passages 
read from them. On this occasion the king heard again 
of the conspiracy of the two chamberlains, and was greatly 
astonished also to learn, that Mordecai had never been 
rewarded for his loyalty. 

In the morning Haman entered the king's palace very 
early, to crave his permission for hanging Mordecai upon 
the gallows. When the king heard that Haman was in 
the court, he called him in, and asked him: " What shall 
be done unto the man whom the king desireth to honor?" 
The vain and ambitious Haman, thinking that the king 
could allude to no man but himself, replied:^* For the 
man whom the king delighteth to honor, let the royal ap- 
parel be brought w^hich the king useth to wear, and the 
horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal 
Avhich is set upon his head : and let this apparel and horse 
be delivered to the hand of one of the kinor's most noble 
princes, that they may array the man withal whom the 
king delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback 



130 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

through the streets of the city, and proclaim before him. 
Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth 
to honor." ''Well spoken," said the king, "make haste, 
and do this to Mordecai, the Jew that sitteth at the king's 
gate; leave out nothing of all that thou hast spoken." 
Hainan was obliged to obey. Having faithfully executed 
the order of the king, he returned home, in sadness, and 
with his head covered, and there related what had hap- 
pened, No sooner had he concluded his narrative, than 
the king's servants came to conduct him to the queen's 
banquet. 

At table the king remembered his promise, and asked 
Esther again : " What wilt thou, and what is thy requests 
and were it even half of the kingdom, it should still be 
given thee!" Then Esther the queen answered and said: 
*' If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please 
the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my 
people at my request ; for we are sold, I and my people, 
to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish." 

• To the question of the king, " Who is it, and where is 
he, whose heart has emboldened him to do so?" Esther 
replied; "An adversary — that cruel man — this wicked 
Haman 1** 

Haman became so terrified that he could not endure the 
looks of the king and queen. But the king became enraged 
against him, and, when one of his servants told him that 
Haman had prepared a gallows for Mordecai, who had 
saved the king's life, he ordered that Haman should be 
hanged thereon, and Mordecai receive his place. And the 
decree, to destroy the Jews on one day, was not executed. 
On that day, there was some fighting between their ene- 
mies and the Jews, but the latter were victorious, and the 
following day was a day of joy and festival for them. Even 
many heathens embraced their religion. In commemoration 
of this event, the Jews celebrate, even to this day, on the 
fourteenth of Adar^ the annual Feast of Purlin — that is, 
Lots^ so called, because Haman had cast lots for fixing the 
day of the extermination of the Jews, and God changed it 
to their advautaore. 



»»ttl.igal iiisiouy for israelitisii schools. 131 
72. Ezra and Nehemiah. 

Under the reign of Artaxerxes, the priest and scribe 
JSzra algo left Babylon and went to Jerusalem, accom- 
panied by many priests, Levites, singers, and other min- 
isters of the Temple, together with more than one thou- 
sand seven hundred persons, to promote the affairs of his 
brethren. The military escort offered to him by his king, 
he would not accept; "for," said he, ''God is my Shield 
and Protection." He caiTied, however, a letter of the 
king with him, containing the royal order, that the pro- 
vince of Babylon should, as the king had done, assist Ezra 
by contributions of money, and that the latter was vested 
with the power of teaching the law, and appointing 
magistrates and judges. 

When Ezra arrived at Jerusalem he perceived, to his 
profound grief, that the Jews did manifest but little zeal 
in the fulfilhnent of their religious obligations, and espe- 
cially that many of them, and among them even priests 
and Levites, had married heathen women. In his grief he 
rent his clothes, plucked off the hair of his head and beard, 
and sat down, solitary, and absorbed in meditations how 
things could be improved. In the evening he assembled 
the people, offered up most feiwent prayers, and admonished 
them to mend their ways. The people were moved, and 
the better ones exclaimed : *'Yes, we have trespassed 
against our God ; yet, let us make a new Covenant with 
God — we are with theel" Ezra then admonished them to 
come again to Jerusalem on the third day, that they might 
deliberate together upon further measures. Numerous was 
the assembly, notwithstanding the heavy rain which then 
fell; they resolved and solemnly vowed to send away their 
heathen wives, and henceforth remain faithful to their God. 

When Ezra thus labored in Jerusalem, another* pious 
Israelite, Nehemiah^ held the office of cup-bearer at the 
court of king Artaxerxes. When he learned that his 
brethren, who had returned to Jerusalem, lived in want and 
misery, that the walls of the city were still in ruins, and 
its gates not yet rebuilt, he wept, prayed, and fasted, his 
cheeks grew hollow, and his whole countenance bore the 
maiks of profound woe and grief. The king observed 



132 BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 

this, and asked him: "Why is thy countenance sad f 
To which Nehemiah replied : "Why should not my coun- 
tenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' 
sepulchres, lieth Avaste, and the gates thereof are consumed 
with fire.'' Then said the king : " For what dost thou make 
request f Nehemiah replied; "If it please the king, and 
if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou 
wouldest send me unto Jiidah, to assist my brethren." 
The king granted Nehemiah's request, and gave him, more- 
over, letters to the governoi's, ordering them to provide 
the Jews with timber for their work, and protect them in 
its execution. Arrived at Jerusalem, Nehemiah admonished 
all the Jews to be zealous and industrious, and encouraged 
them by his own example. But Sanballatj a Samaritan, 
and other adversaries of the Jews, laughed them to scorn, 
and said : " What is this thing that ye do? it appears that 
ye intend to rebel against the king." And Tohiah^ another 
of their enemies, said: "Let them but build: if a fox go 
up, he shall even break down their stone wall." The Jews 
did not heed these speeches, but continued their work 
with increased zeal ; " every one with one of his hands 
wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a 
weapon." Thus they completed the walls in fifty-two days. 
Soon after, there was great famine in the land, and many 
Israelites came to Nehemiah and said: "We, our sons, 
and our daughters, are many ; therefore we take up corn 
for them, that we may eat, and live. We have mortgaged 
our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, 
because of the dearth. We have borrowed money for the 
king's tvi )ute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. 
Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our bi'ethren, our chil- 
dren as their children: and lo, we bring into bondage our 
sons and our daughters to be servants, and sorae of our 
diiugliters are brought unto bondage already: neither is 
it in our power to redeem them ; for other men have our 
lands and vineyards." When Nehemiah heard these com- 
plaints, he rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said : 
"Will ye exact usury of your brethren? Should ye not 
walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach 
of the heathen, our enemies?" Then they answered: 
"We will restore them every thing, and will require 



niBUCAI. HISTORY FOR ISRAEUTISII SCHOOLS. 133 

nothincr of them." Nehemiah himself, although royal 
"oveinov took no salary, and led a very frugal lite, 
SX people might nJt be burthen ed with taxe^: nor 
would he allow his servants to oppress them. B-veiy day 
he Invited one hundred and fifty men to his own table, and 
showed himself the best pattern lor all. 

ml the external security was established, the peoj^e 
assenVbled at Jerusalem, that they might hear the law, 
which Ezra read to them from morning until mid-day 
He stood upon a kind of pulpit, while the people remained 
standing u til he had concluded. He then thanked and 
Sid God, the Holy One of Israel, and all the people 
Jnswered ^ " Amen ! Amen !" Afterwards they made a 
soTemrvow to be taithful to the laws of their God, and 
affirmed it by signing a written covenant. 

Soon after, Nehemiah was compelled to letuin to liis 
kinHut when he came back to Jerusalem, he found, to 
hs deep mortification, that his arrangements had but par- 
^allv bee^complied with. Even JfcmcmeA, a priest re- 
Cd to send away his heathen wife, the daughter of &«- 
Si the Samai^tan, so that Nehemiah was compelled to 
banish him from the country. 

This religious lukewarmness on the pait ot the Jews, 
called forth^he rebukes of Malachi, the last of the pro- 
phets He severely reproved his brethren who would 
Wnv heathen womenf refused to pay the tithes, and 
"egie'^ted the service of God; and his words seem to have 
produced the desiied effect. 

§ 73. FcRTHER Events in the Histort of the Jkws. 

The Jews gradually multiplied again, spread over the 
ibe jews g Jaceful and contented under the rule 

powei in ^"«^J V . , i.po-ard to the manag^emeiit ot 



134 BlliLt .L HiST>UV on ISIIAELITISII SGIOOLS. 

of his empire, they lived, for almost a century, under the 
rule of the kiui^s of jEJgi/jjt, the Ptolemies^ and then under 
that of the Syrian kings. Daring the reign of all these 
kTngs, they were entirely free and independent, with regard 
both to their religious and civil affiiirs ; they had only to ; 
pay a fixed tribute. But things changed under the Syrian 
king Antiochiis Epiphanes, He treated the Jews with 
great cruelty; he captured Jerusalem, took the sacred 
vessels, slew men, women and children, and made all. 
efforts to make the Jews idolaters. 

As an instance of his atrocious cruelty, let us listen to 
the following narrative. He ordered a mother with her 
seven sons to be brought before him, and to be tortured, 
in order thus to force them to forsake their religion. But 
neither threat nor promise could move them. '* There is 
another life," said the pious mother, '* lasting longer than 
the present ; though they take this life, which is but short, 
the Lord skall give us another — -far better one — lasting 
unto eternity." Joyfully did the sons endure the most 
horrible tortures, and one after the other met his death 
with the most astonishing courage ; and after all of them, 
their noble-hearted and virtuous mother willingly submit- 
ted to be made a victim of her faithfulness to her God and 
religion. 

Antiochus sent messengers also to the priest Mattathias, 
to induce him to apostasy. With contempt he refused 
their offers, collected a iViithful band around him, and suc- 
ceeded so far with them and his five sons, of whom Jadah 
Maccahl was the most gallant, that he could defy the 
king's haughtiness. Some time afterwards, Antiochus set 
out to go in person to Jerusalem and subjugate the Jews. 
But he fell from his chariot, and was taken dangerously 
ill. Now he promised to improve. But it was of no 
avail ;^ his sufferings increased ; while yet alive, his body 
decayed, worms grew upon him, and the odor near him 
was intolerable. At last he died under the greatest agonies. 

In the mean while, Judah Maccabi entered Jerusalem, 
cleansed the temple, re-erected the altar, and celebrated 
with his brethren, during eight days, the Feast of Dedi- 
cation^ which is still observed every year in Israel 



BIBLICAL HISTORY FOR ISRAELITISH SCHOOLS. 135 

Thus the Jews were again free, and lived in peace and 
concord. The descendants of Matthatias became the kings 
of the new Jewish Commonwealth, which was, in later 
times, again visited by strifes and contentions. Several 
reUgious sects grew into existence; hatred and discord 
went on increasing, the nation was separated in parties, 
and the Roman General, Porripey^ was requested by one 
of the Maccabean family to afford him aid. Thus the land 
of the Jews was made tributary to the Roman empire. 
By the aid of the Romans, Herod, the Edomite, ascended 
the throne of Judea, but was. so cruel and ambitious, that 
he brought great misery upon his people. Still worse 
fared the Jews after his death, when Roman governors 
ruled over them with such intolerable cruelty, as to excite 
them to rebellion. Now, N'ero, the emperor of Rome, 
sent Vesjyasiayn, and his son Titus to Judea, to quell the 
rebellion. After the most terrible struggles,^ Jerusalem 
and the Temple were at last destroyed, and the Jewish 
people dispersed over all parts of the earth. From that 
time, Israel has ceased to be an independent nation, and 
the Jews are in duty bound to regard and love that land 
wherein they live, as their home and country, to obey its 
laws, and to promote the welfare of all their fellow-citizens, 
witiiout distinction of creed and denomination 



APPENDIX. 



A Brief Outline of the G-eography of Canaan. 



Canaan — called 2X^0 Palestine^ \k\.Q Land of Xudah^ the 
Land of Israel^ the Promised Land^ the Iloly Land — 
forms a portion of Asia, and covers an area of about eighteen 
thousand seven hundred and fifty square miles. It is 
bounded on the East by the Arabian desert, on the South, 
by Arabia and Egypt, on the West, by the Mediterranean 
Sea, and on the North, by Phoenicia and Syria. 

II. 

Canaan is a mountainous country — '*a land of hills and 
valleys." Of its mountains we mention: 1. Lebanon and 
Anti-Lebanon^ the south-eastern continuation of which is 
called Hermon, 2. The ^fountains of N'aphtali. 3. 
Mount CarmeL 4. Mount Tabor. 5. Mount Gilboa, 6. 
The ^fountains of Ephrairn, or Israel — of which the fol- 
lowing points are noted, namely: Zalmon, Gerizhn^ JEbal, 
and Gaash. 7. The Motmtalns of Judea, with Mount 
Carmel, (not to be mistaken for Mount Carmel mentioned 
under No. 3,) and the Mount of Olives. 8. The Moun- 
tains of Gilead, 9. The Abarim Mountains, with Mount 
Peor and Mount Nebo, 

III. 

Although Palestine is very mountainous, it contains 
nevertheless, some -P/am5 or i^ye^ regions. Such are: 
Tiie Plain of Jezreel; the Plain of Sharon^ near Mount 
Carmel ; the Plain of Jordan; the Plain of Jericho; the 
Plain of Moah. 

> IV. 

The most noted Valleys of Palestine are the following: 
The Valley of Salt ; the Valley of Kidron; the Valley 
of Gerar; the Valley of Hinnom/^the Valley of He- 
phaim, and the Valley of EshcoL 



APPENDIX. 



137 



V. 

The Bible mentions, also. Deserts of Canaan. Those 
most known are : The Wilderness of Judea^ connected 
with the wilclernessos of Engedi, Ziph, and Maon; the 
\ Wilderness of Beer-Sheha, 

VL 

The principal river of Palestine is the tTordan. Rising 
at the foot of Mount Hermon, it traverses the country 
from north to south, to an extent of ninety miles, and 
empties into the Dead Sea. The Klshon comes from 
Mount Tabor, and flows into one of the bays of the Medi- 
terranean Sea. The Arnon rises from the Arabian Moun- 
tains, and empties into the Dead Sea. The JTabboh^ near 
the boundaries of the Ammonites, flows into the Jordan. 
The Kidron^ near Jerusalem, empties into the Dead Sea. 

VII. 

There are three renowned Lakes in Canaan: 1. The 
Sea of Chinnereth^ (called also the Sea of Galilee^ and 
Sea of Tiberias.) 2. The Sea of Meroni, 3. The Salt 
Sea, (called, also, the Dead Sea, Lake Asphaltites, and the 
Sea of the Dlain.) 

VIII. 

0?ihQ Mineral Waters of Canaan we may mention: 
The Waryn Baths of Tiberias; the Mineral Springs of 
Kallirrhooe, near Macherus ; the sulphur springs of Gadara. 

On account of the want of water- wells, cisterns were 
used in Palestine, to gather and keep rain-water in them 

IX. 

The climate of Palestine is mild. In ancient times, the 
year was divided in Six Seasons. The first season. Seed- 
time, lasted from the middle of October to the middle of 
December, and is distinguished by the ''early rain,'' 
fiyoreh;) the second or \Vi7iter season, lasted from the 
middle of December to the middle of February ; the third, 
Spring, lasted from the middle of February to the middle 
of April, during which time, the so-called ''latter rain" 
(malkosh) fell. The fourth season, Harvest-time, lasted 



138 APPENDIX. 

from the middle of April to the middle of June; the fifth 
closed in the middle of August; and the sixth, in the 
middle of October. 

X. 

With the climate of the country, the Ifode of Dres^ng 
of the inhabitants, which was very simple, is naturally ^ 
connected. The shirt, called Tunic, was bound round the / 
waist with a girdle. The garment over the tunic, was a 
kind of cloak, and formed, in front, a '^boso7n,"' or large 
fold, which was used for carrying various burdens. The 
head was covered by a piece of fine cloth, laid in folds, in 
the shape of a turban. As a covering for the feet, simple 
soles (sandals) were used, which were fastened with straps 
around the foot and ankle. For journeys, a second Upper 
Garment was used, and served during night, both for a 
cover and hammock. 

The dress of women differed from that of men. Women 
could never be without their veils ; and most precious 
ornaments, such as bracelets, necklaces and Jinger-rings 
were by uo means rare articles. 

XI. 

In former times, Palestine was a very fertile countiy, 
and distinguished as ''aland flowing with milk and honey.'* 
The plains and valleys presented ever-blooming gardens ; 
the greatest number of the mountains were most carefully 
cultivated. 

The chief productions ot the land were various kinds 
oi grains, legitmi^ious plants, garden vegetables, flowers, 
spdces, and a vast number of the most cultivated species of 
trees. Among all these we may mention, as the most 
noted, wheat, barley, lentils, beans, cumin, flax, cotton, the 
olive-tree, the cypress-tree, the pomegranate-tree, the fig- 
tree, the myrrh-tree, the terebinth, the oak, the fir, the 
zakkum-tree, the carob-tree, the palm, the cedar, and the 
sugar-tree. The vine grew in luxuriant abundance. Of 
tame animals, the following among others, deserve par- 
ticular notice : the sheep, the goat, and other domesticated > 
animals ; the ass, the camel, and dogs ; also diflerent kinds 
of poultry. Of wild beasts, Palestine produced bears, 



APPENDIX. 139 

lions, wolves, foxes, jackals, unicorns, crocodiles, ostriches, 
gazelles, chamois, stags and deer. 

XII. 

Canaan was sometimes visited by the following Plagues: 
Earthquakes, destructive east-winds, hail, locusts, pesti- 
lence, di'ought, devastating rain-showers. 

XIII. 

The Cities of Palestine had very narrow streets, (of but 
four cubits in width,) and were without pavement Even 
Jerusalem received its pavement only under the reign of 
Agrippa II. The greater cities had extensive market- 
places near their gates, and very high walls, (forts,) with 
towers and breastworks. The gates were often overlaid 
with iron, copper, or brass, (''brazen gates,") The houses 
were built of rough stone or brick; palaces, of square- 
stone and marble. The house presented a square figure, 
had a spacious courts which was generally without cover- 
ing ; only now and then a curtain was drawn over it, to 
keep oif the burning sun. Round this court ran the hall, 
with cisterns for bathing. The roofs of the houses were 
flat and surrounded by a battlement. The furniture of a 
house was scanty. Stoves were unknown ; during severe 
weather, a moveable chimney was used, in which burned 
a coal-fire, or stood a pot filled with burning char-coal. 
The houses had no windows, but were provided either 
with lattice-ioork, or curtains of net work. The doors 
were barred with wooden bolts ; only prisons and other 
public edifices were provided with iron locks. 

XIV. 

After having conquered Canaan, Joshua divided the 
land among the twelve tribes. 

On this side of the Jordan lived, from the South to the 
North, the tribes of Judah, Simon, Benjamin, Dan, Eph- 
raim, Half of the tribe of Manasseh, Asher, Issachar, 
Zebulun, Naphtali. Beyond the Jordan dwelt the tribes 
of Reuben, Gad, and Half of Manasseh. 



140 APPENDIX. 

During the rale of the Romans in Palestine, the land 
was divided into the provinces of Judea, Samaria, Galilee, 
and Persea. 

Judea^ the most southern province, contained the fol- 
lowing cities: Jerusalem, Gaza, Joppa, Jericho, Jamnia, 
Lachish, Adullam, Eglon, JHebron, Tekoa, Mizpah, Gibeon, 
Gilgal, Ramah. 

Samaria^ which bounded Judea on the North, had the 
following cities: Samaria, (Shomeron,) Shiloh, Bethel, 
Sichem, Thebez, Dotham, Gilgal, Tirzah, Bezek. 

In Galilee^ the most northern province, we find the fol- 
lowing cities : Shumen, Endor, Megiddo, Tiberia, Kedesh, 
Dan. 

Percea, (the land east of the Jordan, Gilead, Bashan,) 
had the following cities: Aroer, Baal-Meon, Shittim, 
Heshbon, Mahanaim. 

XV. 

The neighboring nations and countries of Palestine were: 
1. The Phoenicians, whom the Israelites called Canaan- 
ites. 2. The Philisti7ies, with the cities of Askalon, Ash- 
dod, Gaza, Ekron, Gath. 3. The Amalekites, to the south 
of the former, who descended from one of Esau's grandsons. 
4. The Midianites, who inhabited the region from Sinai to 
the Arabian Sea. 5. The PJdomites, descendants from 
Edora or Esau, with the following cities : Selah, Bozrah, 
Masrekah, Teman, and the sea-ports of Elath and Ezion- 
geber. 6. The Moabites, to the East of the Dead Sea- 
with the city of Zoar. 7. The Amorites and Ammonites^ 
to the north of Moab. 8. Syria, to the north-east of 
Palestine, comprised several countries, of which we may- 
mention: Mesopotoniia, ( Aram-Nab arim, Padam Aram,) 
Aram-Zobah, and Aram-Damesek. To the south of Meso- 
potamia we find Babylon on the Euphrates, and Assyria 
on the Tigris, with its capital, 2f'ineveh. Fuither to the 
east we find Ifedia and Persia, with their capitals Mcha* 
tana and Shushan, 



I I^D EX^ 



-•4M- 



I. Primeval History of the Human Race. 



§ 1. The Creation of the World . 

§ 2. The First Sin . . . 

§ 3. Cain and Abel 

§ 4. Noah 

§ 5. Noah's departure from the Ark 

§ 6. The Descendants of Noah . 



§ 7. 
§ 8. 

§ 9. 
§ 10. 

§ 11. 
§ 12. 
§ 13. 
§ 14. 
§ 15. 
§ 16. 
§ 17. 
§ 18. 
§ 19. 
§ 20. 
§ 21. 
§ 22. 
§ 23. 
§ 24. 
§ 25. 
§ 26. 



II. The Patriarchs. 



Paga 
3 
4 
6 
7 
8 
10 



11 



Abraham the Progenitor of the Israelitish Nation 
Abraham showing his Peaceful Disposition 

and his Generosity . . . . . 12 
Abraham, the Man of Faith .... 13 
Abraham, the Hospitable and Compassionate 

Patriarch 14 

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah . 16 
Abraham's Obedience . . . . .16 
Abraham's Paternal Solicitude for his Son Isaac 18 

Isaac 19 

Jacob and Esau . . • • • • 20 
Jacob's Journey to Haran • • • , 21 
Jacob's Sojourn with Laban . . • . 23 
Jacob's Return to his Native Country . . 24 
The Brothers of Joseph selling him from Envy 26 

Joseph a Slave 27 

Joseph in Prison . 28 

The release of Joseph 29 

The First Journey of Joseph's Brothers to Egypt 30 
The Second Join^ney of Joseph's Brothers to Egypt 32 
The Recognition . . . • . . . 35 

The family of Jacob removing to Egypt . 36 



INDEX. 143 

III. The Israelites in Egypt. pag© 

§ 27. The Birth of Moses 39 

§ 28. Moses manifesting, his Attachment to his Fellow- 
Believers 40 

§ 29 The Appointment of Moses .... 41 

§ 30 The Deliverance of the Israelites from the 

Eg^yptian Bondaire ..... 43 

§ 31 The Destruction of Pharaoh .... 45 

§ o2. The Proclamation of the Law on Mount Sinai 46 
§ 33. The Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf 48 
§ 34. Ritual Institutions : The Tabernacle of the Cove- 
nant — The Priests — The Levites . . 49 
§ 35. The Rebellions of the People, caused by their 

Hardships in the Wilderness ... 52 
§ 36. Difficulties arismg from Rebellions of Individual 

Israelites . . . . . . . 54 

§ 37. Wars with Neighboring Nations . . . 55 
§ 38. Moses sends Spies into Canaan. The Close of 

Israel's Wanderings in the Wilderness . 58 
§ 39. Moses' Farewell Address to his People. His Death 59 

IV. Israel as a Nation. 

A. JToskua. — The Judges. 

§ 40. Joshua. The Conquest of Canaan • • 62 

§ 41. Joshua's Parting Address. His Death • 64 

§ 42. The Judges %^ 

§ 43. The Judges, {continued) . . . . ^^ 

§ 44. The History of Samson . • . • 70 

§ 45. Eli and Samuel 73 

§ 46. The Sons of Eli 74 

§ 47. The Meritorious Acts of Samuel ... 75 

§ 48. God tries and guides the Pious, (Ruth) . 76 

B. The Kings over the Undivided Empire of Israel, 

§ 49. Saul raised to the Royal Throne . . • 78 

§ 50. David anointed King over Israel • . . 80 

§ 51. Saul persecuting David . . . • 82 

§ 52. David, King of Israel . . . . . 85 

§ 53. TheRebellionof Absalom.— Death of David 86 

§ 54. Solomon . . . . . • • 90 

§ 55. The Separation of the Kingdom . • • 62 



144 

*"** INDEX 



C. The Kings of Israel 

Page 

§ 6%, Jeroboam . . . . . . . 94 

§ 57. The Kings of Israel, {continued) Nadab — Baaslia 

Elah — Zimi' — )mri — Ahab ... 95 

97 

99 

100 

102 

104 



§ 58. Elijah and Ahab .... 

§59. Ahaziah — Jehoram. — Jezebel's death 
§ 60. The Prophet Elisha .... 
§61. The Prophet Jonah .... 

§ 62. Job 

§ 63. The Destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. The 

Prophets 105 

D. The Kings of JudaK 

§ 64. Rehoboam-Abijah-Asa-Jehoshaphat-Jehoram 109 

§ 65. The Kings of Judah, (con^mwe^)- Ahaziah- Je- 
hoash — Amaziah — Uzziah — Jotham — Ahaz- 
Hezekiah 112 

§ 66. The Kings of Judah, {continued) — Manasseh— 
Amon— Josiah — Jehoahaz — Jehoiakim — ^Je- 
hoiachin — Zedekiah . . . . 116 

§ 67. The Prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel • • 119 

E. The History of the Israelites during and after 
the Babylonian Captivity, 

§68. Daniel — Hannaiah — Mishael— Azariah . 123 

§69. The Return of the Jews from the Babylonian 

125 
126 
127 
131 
133 



Captivity 
§ 70. Haggai and Zechariah • 

I 71. Esther 

§ 72. Ezra and Nehemiah 

§ 73. Further Events in the History of the Jews 



Appendix. 
A Brief Outline of the Geography of Canaan • 136 



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